


Flash mich nochmal

by gruener_regen



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Carla is alive, Drinking, Dubious Consent, First Kiss, First Relationship, Grisha is missing, M/M, Mafia like structures, Thief Eren, Weapons, criminal levi, ereribigbang2k17, law breaking, motorcycle enthusiasm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 19:40:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13620339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gruener_regen/pseuds/gruener_regen
Summary: After an unfortunate accident, Eren's mother was left in a wheelchair and, after Grisha left, in debt. The daughter off to university on a scholarship, the son struggling with school and every kind of job he could get. No wonder he sometimes came home with things he couldn't possibly have afforded. No wonder he found himself running from the police more and more often. At some point he was bound to be caught,that is, if he hadn't met Levi. Levi, who himself had done his fair share of law breaking. A fair share more than Eren. And Eren, who admired this selfpaced way of life, fell for Levi. His maturity, aura and his willingness to do things for Eren he never would have dared to do for himself.





	1. Flüchtig

**Author's Note:**

> So, finally I am able to post my entry for the ereri bigbang 2k17.   
> I was unable to finish it in time but I'm working on it.   
> I worked together with a few amazing artists and I will post the links to their artworks in the notes at the beginning of the corresponding chapters. So keep an eye out for that.   
> One of these artists, lampurple, was so very kind to also Beta read for me. 
> 
> This work was originally inspired by the music video of, as well as Mark Foster's german song Flash mich. If you have any way of watching it, I would highly recommend it. It may contain spoilers for chapters which haven't yet been published, so beware. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy yourself and I am grateful for any and all kinds of feedback.

"Halt! Thief! Somebody stop him!”  


A tall boy in a green hoodie dashed around the corner, his legs moved so fast they looked like a blur. The cop that chased after him had no chance. He was at least a few hundred meters behind already. The boy navigated his way through the labyrinth of streets with such stupidity that Levi had to take pity in him. No matter how quick he was, his legs wouldn't carry him out of a dead end.  


He was dashing through the street so quickly he didn't notice the fence until he crashed right into it. With heavy breathing and a look of sheer panic, the thief brushed back his hair; longer than appropriate and blown into all directions. Whatever it was he had stolen was clutched under his left arm, hidden from Levi's view. It seemed heavy and was probably not something one should throw over an 8 foot fence. But the sudden look of determination that crossed his face showed all too clearly, that that did not matter to the boy.  


With another deep breath the boy took a couple of steps backwards and was apparently preparing himself to climb the fence while holding onto the stolen item. For a second there, Levi contemplated leaving him to succumb to his own stupidity.  


"Over here!” Levi whistled to attract his attention and the boy spun around in confusion. How he hadn't noticed Levi standing barely five feet away was beyond him. He nodded his head towards the opened door next to him. At this point, there wasn't much else the thief could do. When the policeman finally came around the corner, Levi was casually leaned next to the now closed door, taking a long drag from his cigarette. The policeman approached him, out of breath and sweating. Levi nodded towards the fence and blew a cloud of smoke in his direction.  


"The kid went over there.”  


"Over there!?”  


"Mmh. Some next level parkour shit if you ask me.” Who knows, maybe he would have managed it.  


The policeman nodded and gave some quick instructions into his radio before taking off, back in the direction he had just came from. His steps were loud enough for Levi to be able to track them all the way back around the block. Only then did he take one final drag and throw the cigarette stub on the ground. Cautious eyes drifted left and right as he ground it out with the tip of his shoe and placed a hand on the door handle.  


The staircase behind it was empty and Levi stood still in the door frame for a moment, listening.  


"You can come out now, he's gone.”  


It took a few more seconds before a lanky figure slowly crept up the stairs, blue eyes -or green?- glancing up at him from underneath dark brown bangs. His right hand on the railing while his left wrapped protectively around his dented hoody as if he were pregnant. He stopped midway on the stairs, clearly debating whether he should trust Levi or not.  


Levi stepped inside, leaving the door open and leaned against the wall opposite of the boy. He looked pretty young and wasn't the most muscular. He wouldn't be much of a threat, Levi mused. But he also didn't look anxious enough to be a first timer.  


"What did you get that's too important to drop?”  


The boy frowned, but the question had the desired effect. The nonchalant tone made it obvious that Levi didn't care he was a thief. It even suggested he himself had committed the same crime before. He relaxed, hand leaving the railing and going underneath his sweater to reveal a large box. Levi whistled.  


"Drill? That thing looks pretty top notch. You gonna sell it or something?”  


"It's a gift.” The boy carefully maneuvered it back underneath his clothes, shielding it from the world with a fond look in his eyes.  


"Is your girlfriend a handyman?”  


"No, it's for a family member. Why?” His demeanor grew hostile and he took a step back, evidently forgetting he was on a staircase and automatically gripping the railing. He barely managed to keep the box from tumbling down. Levi scoffed as the boy cursed.  


"Don't worry, I don't snitch. Just make sure to plan your escape route next time.” The boys cheeks flushed red and his brows furrowed in anger.  


"Hey, I could have made that without your help just fine!”  


Levi sized the boy up. Sure, he was a bit on the tall side, but scrawny and not too good at what he was doing.  


"Sure, whatever.”  


"What's that supposed to mean? I didn't ask for your help!”  


He stormed forward with such determination that Levi tensed in preparation for a fight. But the boy stopped before he reached the top of the stairs. One step below Levi and now they were on eye level with each other.  


And boy, what eyes he had! Blue or green? Maybe a little gold in between. Levi didn't really care for looks much, but he could still appreciate the little details. For instance the size of his eyes, large like those of a child, with long lashes. His skin only a few shades lighter than his hair. He was pretty...like Isabel.  


Levi pushed open another door, right next to the stairs. The boy flinched and held the drill as if it were a little bird, big eyes staring up at him full of fight and persistence.  


"Go through here, wait a few minutes and then leave through the main entrance. If your smart, you'll stop hiding that thing under there, loose the sweater and go straight home as if you'd bought that drill. Capiche?”  


Startled by Levi's sudden outburst of angry helpfulness, the boy blinked a few times and nodded shakily.  


"Uhm... thanks... I guess.”  


Levi nodded. The boy bolted.  


As soon as the door fell shut behind him, Levi lit himself yet another cigarette and went back out into the alley. The day was still pretty young and he didn't have anywhere else to be for another few hours. On top of that, those large eyes seemed to be painted to the back of his eyelids. It made him feel like a bad friend, to be reminded of how long he hadn't talked to her and Farlan. Maybe, he should pay them a visit. 

 

Eren lived in a small apartment on the fifth floor, which was good, because the chances of there being mold were a lot smaller. But he also had to walk up five flights of stairs, since most of these old buildings had elevators out of the nineteenth century and his patience was comparable to the slice of cake you remember leaving in the fridge for tomorrow; you’re always sure it’s there, but somehow it’s either already gone or there’s much less of it than you remember.  


Thus, he arrived in front of his door, mildly out of breath...okay, okay! He was sweating like a pig and panting like a dog. Though this hadn't been his first time stealing and he had made sure to avoid any encounters with the police, he still ran home as if he were being chased by his ninth grade politics teacher. Thank god that wasn't the case.  


"Eren? Is that you?”  


The door slowly opened and Eren quickly snuck the drill back underneath his hoodie.  


"Hey, Mama!” He bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek, then shuffled around her and maneuvered himself into the flat. His mother laughed.  


"What do you have to hide from me?”  


"Nothing! It's a present, don't look!”  


With a nervous smile on his face, Eren kicked the door of his room shut behind him. It was the largest of four separate rooms in their flat. A small bathroom with a tub and a showerhead, a kitchen with a small dining table for two people (on Christmas, Easter and birthdays they could squeeze a total of four), his mother's bedroom and his own bedroom. His bedroom was the biggest, since he used to share it with Mikasa, with the tv and computer placed in there as well. That was really the only reason he kept it tidy.  


He hid the drill underneath his bed, behind a small stash of adult magazines, which were naturally only there to shield things from his mother and Mikasa, but mostly from Mikasa. She didn't need to know that he had stolen it, although she did know a lot more about his problems than his mother. Carla Jäger valued privacy. She herself wrote a diary, which Eren had never even attempted to read, knowing his mother wouldn't snoop about in his room. Hopefully. The drill wasn't the first thing he'd stolen and the letters from school that he received or the marked tests that she wasn't supposed to see were all neatly tucked in a box underneath his bed.  


Anyway, he wasn't scared of his mama finding the stolen drill, which if she did, was totally not stolen but legally acquired. If Mikasa were to find it, she would first have to look through his stash of dirty magazines, which she wouldn't, unless she was completely and utterly ruthless (which she was when angry). So if she did, she would ask questions. Like, "what was it for?” He could tell her that. She was in on his plan already anyway. But "where did you get the money for that,” would be a different thing.  


Firstly, he didn't have any money. The hypothetical money he hypothetically had, was from the hypothetical job as a cashier at some weird local Russian food store. He had actually had that job up until four days ago, but got fired for apparently insulting an old Russian lady. He didn't speak Russian and she hadn't spoken anything but Russian. If you asked Eren, then he hadn't done anything wrong, really. He just didn't know any Russian besides Nastrovje and Doswidanja and he wasn't even one hundred percent sure that he used those in the right context. So when this lady had taken much too long putting her items in her purse, he had simply meant to help. She hadn't seen it as help and had started yelling at him, so yeah, of course Eren had yelled back. But in neither Russian swear words, which would be the only ones she could have certainly identified as swear words, nor English ones. No, he had simply spoken to her in a little louder tone to make sure she could hear him over all her yelling. To her, that must have seemed insulting. Oh well. At least the store paid him for the rest of the month.  


Unfortunately, the rent, bills, his mother's pain medication and groceries ate away at his mother's savings and Eren's small paychecks like a hoard of vikings after battle. Carla had been reluctant to accept her son’s hard earned money but desperate times called for desperate measures.  


He had helped Jean with painting his new flat, mowed Mr. Pixis' lawn every Tuesday and Saturday, walked a few dogs in the neighbourhood every afternoon and regularly got groceries and bread from the baker for the three elderly residents in his building. For half of these jobs, his mother expected him to be at school. Eren rarely was.  


He often didn't have time for it, let alone homework. Skipping school was one of his only ways to get some sleep or work on his mother's birthday present. That's what the drill was for, after all.  


Nine years ago, Eren had just turned ten and Mikasa had been living with them for the past year, something pretty horrible happened.  


Shiganshina had never been the most wealthy city but it had been considered safe. From what Eren could remember, they never had had trouble with burglars or violence. He had been allowed to go outside on his own without his mother having to worry about him. He would leave with Mikasa, meet with Armin and whoever else he could find and when he came home, his father would be there and his mother would have the table set with so much food to choose from while his father talked about work and Mikasa smiled next to him. The house was big enough for all of them and his mother kept saying that it might be big enough for one more. But that didn't happen, because nine years ago, things changed.  


From one day to the next it seemed Shiganshina was no longer safe. It wasn't burglars or terrorists or war, but it was as if a new government had established itself, just for their little town. People died, were found with a knife to their chest, a bullet in their head or poison in their veins but with no motive and no suspects in sight.  


The police was at wits end, the citizens were at their end and Eren’s family was at its end. Because the people who died were not killed at random. Shopkeepers, policemen, teachers, everybody with a little bit of influence, with a semblance of social standing. If they had something to say and people were willing to listen they seemed to be on the list. So, of course, Dr. Jäger had been on that list as well.  


"They don't care how old you are or if you can defend yourself, Eren!” That's what his mama had said over and over again, because Eren had been, and still is, a stubborn little shit, who wouldn't back down from anything.  


He had spent a lot of time with Mikasa back then, playing cards, telling ghost stories and prank calling Armin's grandfather and Hannes, a weird old cop who was either drunk or half drunk and on neighbourhood watch or gone for work. They were too scared to prank call anybody else.  


One day, Eren still remembered it quite vividly, the situation turned. His father had just come back home and, like any other evening, they all sat together on their big couch watching the news. His father's arm was around his mother's shoulder and Eren - bored out of his mind – tried to watch TV upside down, feet dangling next to his mother's head, who tickled them affectionately.  


"Stop!”  


"Shh, Eren.’  


"B-bahaha-but she won't stop tickling!”  


"Quiet!” Grisha hadn't sounded angry, more urgent, as if this was important. So Eren and Carla stopped and shifted their attention to the television just in time to hear:  


"...will be supporting the local police force with over one hundred and fifty new members. Chief of Police, Keith Shadis has alerted the public to report any suspicious activity and has advised the citizens to continue with living their lives normally albeit with more caution..."  


After that, things settled down relatively quick. It was thought that whoever had been responsible was outnumbered and had moved on. Eren was allowed to play with Armin and Mikasa again and after being confined to their homes for so long, they couldn't get enough of playing outside. They had even gotten Armin to climb trees with them and Armin usually never did that.  


Jean had joined them at some point. He sucked but he was okay when Marco was around. And Eren had to let him play with them, because Jean had brought his soccer ball and that was about the only reason why Eren would tolerate him. The makeshift goals were two trees on one side and two sticks on the other side. And the additional rule was that you were only allowed to shoot as high as Armin could reach, because Mikasa couldn't be goalkeeper all day.  


Eren didn't remember the score anymore, just that somebody had fouled someone else, probably Jean's fault, when suddenly the ground had shook beneath their feet. Startled, the group had stopped bickering. A low sound, as if something had crashed, filled their ears for what must have been longer than five seconds. It came from the town center.  


Every parent in Shiganshina as well as every school teacher and sports trainer had drilled the children of the town go running home at the slightest sign of danger, so of course, that was what they were going to do.  


Marco had picked up the ball and nudged Jean's shoulder.  


"I think we'd better go... See you guys later?”  


But before anybody could answer there was that sound again, louder this time. Closer.  


Then came the sirens. And the gunshots.  


Mikasa had grabbed both Armin and Eren and started racing for the end of the field. Marco and Jean had gone in the other direction. That was when Eren realized which direction the sounds had come from. And that Mikasa was pulling him the exact opposite way. Away from home. She couldn't do that. His father was there. His mother was there. He had to see that they were fine, that the sounds had come from somewhere else.  


He didn't remember how he got there, only that there were more explosions and that, but all of a sudden Armin was gone. And so was Eren’s house.  


"Mama!” That was the first time he had heard Mikasa call her that. It was the most vivid memory he had of that day. The noise she made, the shrill scream as her voice broke through, ending up an octave higher.  


The rest was a blur. He remembered blood everywhere. He remembered how his hands hurt and one of his nails chipped. He remembered how he couldn't lift the wooden post his mother was trapped under. Not even with Mikasa's help. And he remembered shots coming closer.  


All of a sudden, he had been forcefully pulled back, a firm grip on his collar. He had wanted to kick and bite and scream, until he saw the person. Clad entirely in black, heavy boots and a helmet covering the face, a machine gun strapped over a bullet proof jacket.  


He hadn't been able to tell if they were a man or a woman, but they had lifted that post so effortlessly that it had left Eren feeling like the weakest, most powerless creature in the world. Eren should have been embarrassed that the soldier or whoever he was had thrown him over his shoulder instead of Mikasa, whom they took by her hand, but his eyes were fixed on his mother. Or more importantly her legs. They weren't there...  


Eren was glad for the soldier turning him around. One arm holding him by the back of his legs and somehow, simultaneously pressing his mother’s body against his chest. Eren could see the blood trail she left on the floor as the soldier carried them away. Mikasa had her eyes fixed ahead of her and Eren was grateful for the dark fabric that shielded the soldiers neck, reaching all the way up to his helmet. He hid his face in it, trying desperately to block out the pained cries of his mother.  


Long story short, her whole body had been crushed up to her hip bones. The surgeons had seen no other way but to amputate the rest of her legs up to her knee joint, saving what could be saved but leaving her in a wheelchair and with chronic pain.  


After their house had been rendered uninhabitable by the explosion, they had moved to a large flat in Trost. His father had taken time off work to tend to his wife, but Carla wouldn't get better. She was terrified whenever anyone left the house and had called the police on more than one occasion when Eren or Mikasa had missed their curfew even if by only by a few minutes. Fortunately, Hannes worked there. He was a good friend of the family and had more than once voluntarily gone to look for Eren and Mikasa who had been, in every case, on their way home. On those days, Hannes would come in, have dinner with them and laugh about what a wild child Eren was, staying out that late. Nobody could blame Carla for worrying. Especially with this air of inevitability and desperation that seemed to stick to her.  


But when her mental state only worsened she and Grisha began arguing. Constantly.  


He remembered Mikasa opening the door to his room and stepping in without a word. She would go to sit next to him as close as possible and hide herself behind her scarf to the background music of insults and screams and banging doors. Eren would offer Mikasa his headphones and stoically keep doing whatever he was doing. It kept going on and on and Eren thought it would never stop. Now sometimes he wishes it really hadn't.  


They had never gotten divorced, even though Eren still firmly believed they had been about to at the time. But despite that, Carla still wore the ring. Eren hadn't known widows did that.  


When Eren turned eleven, shortly after it happened, they moved from the big flat in Trost to a small one in Shiganshina. With Grisha gone and Carla unable to work, the landlord of their old home had kindly given them to understand, that they were no longer welcome. They had no place to go, no one would rent to them, knowing full well that there would come times when the rent could not be paid. Carla Jäger had thanked the heavens when Hannes had shed a little light into their darkest days. He knew a guy, who knew a guy who knew a guy, but Carla didn't care for the details. She only cared for a bed for her children and a roof over their heads.  


While the new flat was large enough to house the three of them, it wasn't exactly wheelchair friendly. Slim doors, high cupboards in the kitchen, a shower she could hardly use by herself and it was situated on the fifth floor. But she managed.  


Neither Eren nor Mikasa had been able to take care of each other and Carla on their own. Things that Carla had been able to do on her own at the old flat she suddenly needed help with. Without their neighbour, who had already lived in the flat opposite long before they had moved in, Carla Jäger wasn't sure what she would have done.  


He lived in a flat of the same size, but alone. It was scarcely furnished and he claims he only bought it because of the high ceiling and doors. Which made sense, given that he was the tallest man Eren had ever seen. And also the broadest.  


He had watched the two children move the cardboard boxes into the building from his window that day. Once they had moved to carry the furniture he had gone downstairs and taken the heavy load from their arms without a word, ignoring Eren’s protests.  


He had lifted Carla up as if she weighed nothing more than a feather to him and had carried her over the doorstep – she had blushed like a schoolgirl.  


To top it off, right off the bat, he had given them his phone numbers. His home phone and work along with the promise to be there and help them whenever they needed.  


He hadn't clarified it at the time, but Eren soon found out that he was one of the police officers that had been newly employed due to the crisis a few years prior.  


This man lived right opposite to them. Eren begrudgingly had to admit, that he had felt safer, knowing Mr. Zacharias was there.


	2. Wirr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wonderful lampurple made some amazing art for this chapter.   
> You can find it here: http://lampurpleart.tumblr.com/post/170676884092/while-it-didnt-feel-like-what-he-had-imagined-a
> 
> I am so amazed by it, she has done such an amazing job and I am grateful to have been able to work together with her for this event.

 

Their new neighbour helped out where he could, so of course Carla tried to do the same. She invited him over for dinner, first only to say thank you, then to Christmas and birthdays and now whenever he was home. It was a funny picture, really. This giant crammed in next to a woman in a wheelchair and her two small eleven year old kids. Above that he barely said a word. When he did, it was quiet and in a deep voice that reminded Eren of Benjamin Blümchen, one of the german children shows his mother had let him and Mikasa watch when it was on.  


When Mr. Zacharias wasn't at home, Eren was tasked with watering his house plants. There were a lot.  


He had this theory, that, maybe, next to his job as a policeman, the man was secretly a drug dealer. He always seemed so relaxed. Especially since the man had first introduced him to his flat with the words 'gardening helps me calm down'.  


His place was a fucking greenhouse. A plain kitchen, a bed, a couch, a lot of books and some trinkets but what stuck out most were those house plants. Large ones in the corner, small ones on the window sills. Some were hanging from the ceiling, others lovingly placed in the middle of a table or next to a few books. Eren was still scared of counting them, because whenever he came back to the flat, there were more. And Eren had never seen a single one of his plants die. Other than that one cactus, but that was probably Eren's fault...  


Today though, Mr. Zacharias was home. This meant, that his mother would be cooking dinner for the three of them.  


Believe it or not, but they used to fit more than three people at the tiny table.  


After what happened in Shiganshina, many people moved away out of fear that the situation would worsen again, which it had. The Jägers and Kirschsteins had moved closer to the end of town. Marcos family had moved away completely, to Trost. At least he still kept in touch and sometimes came to visit everybody and Jean, but mostly Jean.  


Armin and his family had moved to a flat similar to our old one. Once Armin had turned seventeen, his parents had left town to travel the world. They were both scientists. Marine biologists. Armin had volunteered to stay at home and look after his grandfather, but about a year ago he had suffered a stroke and they had come to the agreement, that Armin's grandfather would live in a seniors residence, so long as Armin visited every once in a while. Since Armin had no other family, these visits had occurred as often as every second day. The remaining days he had spend with the Jäger family.  


Carla Jäger could not have been happier with this development. But around the same time Mikasa had gone to the University of Stohess to study Psychology, Armin left to Karanese to go to law school. Only Eren was left behind, repeating the last year and working.  


So, his mother was cooking and Mr. Zacharias - or Mike as his mother called him, much to Eren's displeasure – wouldn't be coming over until six. He had walked the dogs right before he had gotten the drill, groceries were due tomorrow and no trips to the bakery until Friday... He should probably do his homework, but after Mr. Zacharias arrives, he wouldn't get another chance. So Eren crawled underneath his bed and pulled out his stash of porn magazines to...  


Aah, that sounded wrong. He wasn't going to jerk off it. Not to those anyway. They served a different purpose.  


He pulls out the magazines and the drill to reveal an array of small boxes. Loads of small boxes. Full of nails and screws and other things that could become handy...at another time.  


Because Eren needs all of this for next week. He's talked this through with Mr. Zacharias. So his plan works in both ways; Eren asked him to take his mother out for a nice day out and maybe a long dinner or something next Thursday, while Eren is still "at school.” Of course, Mr. Zacharias thinks Eren is actually at school. Eren can't trust a man with that many houseplants - who just so happens to also be a police officer - with his skipping habits.  


Anyway, while Eren is "at school” he planned to take apart their entire flat. Not everything obviously, just everything he can work with. Armin agreed to help and Mikasa will be there for his mother's birthday anyway, so she's in on it too. He thought about asking Jean too, but he's more of a burden than anything. Then again they need a lot of people for this so he'll have to think about it again.  


And when his mother comes back from her definitely-not-date with Mr. Zacharias, Eren will have the greatest gift of all time for her. It totally beats Mikasa's drawings his mother had still hanging in around the flat.  


He had bought cupboards and extensions and handles and all sorts of things to make his mother's life a little easier. Building the stuff into the flat wouldn't be a problem if they had the day, at least compared to the trouble it was getting the stuff. He had bought everything fair and square, and even made some of it himself. He was able to borrow a couple of tools from neighbours and friends to cut metal and wood into place. But nobody had wanted to give him a drill. Mike didn't have one, Armin's grandfather didn't have one and the rest of people he knew either wouldn't lend him one or were old ladies who didn't do any repairs on their own.  


He'd seen the drill close to the entrance and had just said fuck it. He'd stolen before, but never anything that was actually expensive and worth stealing. A pair of sunglasses, a belt and one of those little sound blasters, because his old stereo had given up. And candy, of course, which hardly counted by now. But he had never had to run away from the police. He'd never even been caught, he was simply too quick and most of the time the guards didn't even bother to follow.  


For a second, Eren stopped rummaging around underneath his bed, thinking of that man. What would have happened if Eren had tried to jump the fence? He was fit and all, but not that fit. Especially not with the drill. So right now he'd either be empty handed or sitting in an office with a very pissed off police officer. Maybe even Hannes... Fuck, his mother would have a heart attack if something like that ever happened.  


He felt strangely grateful towards that creepy man. Eren couldn't even remember his face anymore, only his haircut and short stature came to mind. And the stare that sent chills down his spine. He'd been pale too, Eren thought. Pale enough to be a vampire. That was probably his standard costume every single Halloween.  


Eren preferred to mix that up. Sometimes he went as a zombie, other times as a ninja. He even went as a Transformer once, about ten years ago. His mother was really crafty and she had made one of those cardboard costumes that could transform into a car when you laid down on the ground with your butt on your feet and your head between your arms, like a turtle. She took so many pictures that day, Eren firmly believed they could be turned into collective cards:  


Eren transforms I. Eren transforms II. Eren transforms III. Eren doesn't transform I. Eren doesn't transform II. Eren doesn't transform III. Eren starts crying because his mother is taking too many pictures I...Yes, he actually had started crying because of that. And there were multiple pictures both digital and printed out to prove that. He wasn't ashamed of it though, there were too many other incidents caught on camera and video that were much, much more embarrassing. And being Optimus Prime for a day was pretty awesome. Whatever had happened to that costume?  


Smiling at the memories, Eren didn't really notice how quickly the time passed. He managed to make a list of everything he still needed. One or two tools he could probably borrow from Mr. Zacharias. Then he scheduled who should do what. And there came the first problem. He still needed more people. Shit, maybe he did have to get Jean onboard. But where Jean was, Marco usually wasn't far behind, so at least they'd have someone to keep the asshole in check.  


Jean and Marco could do the bathroom then, that was simple enough. He'd do his mother’s room in the meantime with Armin -he'd figured out what to do about the large wardrobe and the bookshelf she could only reach halfway without his help - and meanwhile Mikasa and Annie would do the kitchen together.  


He had wanted to do something about the doors. They were uncomfortably slim, but he couldn't just tear out parts of the walls. He had talked to the landlord. Only things that could be undone. Asshole. But he would have had to do it all himself anyway. There wasn't enough money for that.  


So now they would ease the problem by simply adding some thick fabric to the parts where the wheelchair sometimes came in contact with the wood.  


The doorbell rang and Eren quickly shoved everything back underneath his bed. Then the porn magazines. A little bit to the left... Maybe let one of the things just casually fall down so that her chest was visible... there. Mikasa-proof!  


Mr. Zacharias had a key. But instead of just coming in he had a fixed routine. Ring the bell, wait for my mother to yell something like "Come on in!”, then he'd open the door and slip right in. It was weird, seeing as it was already given that he would come over to eat when he was there. That was why he told us whenever he left, so my mother didn't cook as much.  


Eren heard his voice, a lot less muffled by the door than expected.  


"Guten Abend.”  


He tried out his German sometimes, but only when Eren wasn't in sight. Eren hoped it was not some weird attempt at flirting with his mom. God, please no.  


"Isch habe... Lasagna?”  


Ugh.  


"Lasagne! Thank you! Hello, Mike. Long week?”  


There! That was why Eren, despite knowing the man’s first name since the day he moved in, still insisted on calling him Mr. Zacharias. As if that somehow could act as a shield against their obvious and terrible flirting. Mr. Zacharias was nice and all, but he didn't want a stepfather who was a cop and who's only freetime occupation were his houseplants. He'd probably given each of them a name too...  


With a dramatic sigh, Eren opened the door and shuffled out into the kitchen, his hands buried in the pockets of his sweater. Still the exact same sweater he was supposed to have thrown away. Eren wondered how anybody could consciously decide they wanted a haircut that looked as... unique as that man’s. Strike that, Eren wondered if the man had decided he wanted that done to his hair or if it had been a trip to the hairdresser that had gone wrong or a bet or maybe he was secretly going bald and saw the only solution in wearing an oddly shaped tupé...  


"Hi,” he muttered and Mr. Zacharias grunted back as they both set up the table. He was so weirdly tall, that his legs didn't fit underneath the small table along everybody elses. So he either spread his legs extremely, awkwardly wide, or he held them underneath his chair – both cases made for some weird shuffle dance when he got up. Yeah, maybe they should get a different table. But his mama came first.  


They ate away at the small lasagna from Mr. Zacharias and the fish and vegetables his mother had made. It was a comfortable silence between them, which was only broken by Carla's never ending need for conversation. Though Eren had inherited that, he had not inherited her graceful way of avoiding every touchy topic as if she were a pro at minesweeper. So they talked a little about school until Carla realized something was up that Eren didn't want to discuss, probably the fact that he'd skipped. Shit.  


So she started to talk about her day a little and then about their quiet but very attentive guest. Eren felt a little tired and his mother’s melodic voice with a few interludes of the deep, gentle rumble of Mr. Zacharias lulled him into some sort of trance where he didn't really think about anything besides the eggplant he was dissecting on his plate.  


He realized they had changed topics yet again, Eren perked up when there was a mention of another robbery at a liquor store and how some of the culprits behaved completely out of spectrum. They didn't in the least have the same finesse as the robberies and crimes usually committed by the people Mr. Zacharias was responsible for.  


The man quietly admitted that he suspected other people were committing petty crimes in the name of an underground organization that nowadays roamed the streets. Either that, or they were recruiting and growing.  


Then his mother turned to him, suddenly.  


"You were going to go out on Friday, weren't you?” She looked a lot more serious now. Small talk time was over.  


He nodded. Her head dipped a little to the side, indicating she wanted more information. "Marco's coming over for the weekend. We wanted to go to a party,” Eren said, like it was no big deal, which it wasn't, really.  


Eren had always been pretty open with his mother about these kinds of things and she tended to see right through him.  


"Who else is coming?” That was it. The crucial question. Eren looked up to see Mr. Zacharias still chewing, but slowing once he caught Eren's gaze. His eyebrows raised high.  


"Jean.” And after a little moment of silence. "Armin couldn't come because of midterms. The others don't know Marco, so…” That last bit was maybe a little lie. Everybody knew Marco. Every second story Jean told or every second story that was told about Jean contained the name Marco at least three times. Marco was a legend at school, a legend that Jean didn't want to share with anybody. Understandably so, since Jean was an asshole and Marco had no trouble finding friends. Eren didn't want to finish the thought. He'd been about to think, "so Marco would have no trouble replacing him either,” but he didn't hate Jean that much.  


"How are you getting there?”  


"Jean's driving.”  


"Who's driving back?”  


"Jean... I guess.” He saw his mother’s brows scrunch together. "Only if he didn't drink anything of course... Otherwise, I guess we'll take a taxi. Or a bus.”  


Eren had already figured where this was headed. His mother didn't want him to walk home, especially not on his own and Jean didn't live close. She shot Eren a look and Mr. Zacharias still quietly followed their conversation.  


"I'm not gonna walk alone, I'll take my phone and text you when I leave and I'll be extra careful and avoid dark streets. That alright?”  


Carla still did not seem convinced. She sighed, leaned back a little and shot Mr. Zacharias a look. As if he had any authority about Eren! He wasn't his father, like hell would Eren listen to anything he said!  


"I can pick him up,” he murmured and went back to eating.  


Eren was about to protest until he realized Mr. Zacharias hadn't said anything against his plans.  


"I don't know, Mike. I don't want you to have to get out of bed that early in the morning, you do too much for us already.”  


Eren knew that tone. His mother didn't want him to go and was looking for an excuse to forbid him to.  


"It's fine. I'm on shift anyway. I have to be awake in case they call me in.”  


"Oh, well. If that is the case, then that would be very kind of you, Mike.” And just like that the issue was resolved. His mother seemed to know when she was beat.  


When Eren looked up, Mr. Zacharias winked at him. After that, they resumed eating in contented silence while his mother talked about the most recent news from Mikasa.  


She had found a new flatmate, after her old one, Sasha, had moved in with her boyfriend. This new girl, Annie, was a lot more to Mikasa's liking. They had met through the kickboxing classes the University provided. Annie was a music student and spent the majority of her time in front of the piano. Mikasa didn't mind, since she apparently played really well. But Carla was worried that Annie might be too quiet.  


Mikasa didn't talk much unless somebody else led the conversation. Sasha had been good for her. A quirky little ray of sunshine and the only way to shut her mouth was to fill it with food.  


With Sasha gone, who would get Mikasa to talk about things that bothered her? Of course Eren and Mikasa still talked regularly, daily even, but that wasn't the same. They were miles and miles apart. Who would hug her? Who would cook for her if she was sick?  


"Mom, I'm sure Mikasa can take care of herself. Besides, she seemed really excited for her new roommate.” Not that he could have calmed Carla down that easily. But that was just part of being a mother, right?  


Nonetheless, Eren was happy that they lived so far from Mikasa. Otherwise his mother would have demanded they visit her and meet her new flatmate, which Eren highly doubted would end in anyone's favour.  


"Oh, but I liked Sasha. Such a sweet girl. And you know how Mikasa is, she's not going to do a thing to keep that friendship alive. She sure is lucky she has you and Armin.”  


For a moment Eren saw his mother gnawing at her nails, but before that could happen Mike already got up and took his and Eren's empty plate, effectively pulling her out of her stupor.  


Carla quickly went back to finishing her food.  


"I'll go back over and grab some sleep. Call me when you need picking up,” he mumbled and took Carla's plate as well.  


"You don't have to wash them, Mike. Eren?”  


Eren groaned and rolled his eyes, but obediently went to the sink.  


"You're forgetting something!”  


"Thank you, Mr. Zacharias,” Eren muttered and received a grunt in response.  


A minute later the door fell shut and Carla came up behind him, leaning her head against him. He enjoyed the closeness, leaning his body towards her.  
"You know me, Eren. I worry,” she sighed.  


Eren halted in his movements for a second, a lingering ache welling up in his chest. He dried off his hands and knelt down, leaning his head against hers.  
"I know, but I'm fine. I'll be careful.”  


It sounded like a promise, but Carla only laughed.  


"I know you mean it, but I don't think you're capable of that, Eren.”  


Her laugh sounded both happy and sad, and Eren was left confused by it while she pressed a kiss to his forehead.  


"Alright then, I trust you. Be careful and don't do anything stupid. Don't give your mother a reason to worry.”  


"I promise.” Eren hugged her again and then went back to finishing the dishes.

 

"Hey Jäger. What took you?”  


Jean, slouched over the couch, was deep in a game of Mario Kart with Marco. Well, not that deep in it as in concentrating on winning the game. No, Marco sucked at video games, so Jean paid careful attention to not discourage him in any way. The same way Mikasa treated Armin.  


Marco still fell off the road a lot more than the average player did. Like just now.  


"Oh, shit. That was close,” Jean commented, sounding honest. It really wasn't that close.  


"Yeah, sorry,” Eren interrupted, "Dinner took a little longer. Hey Marco.”  


"Hi Eren!”  


Eren didn't bother sitting down, he just rested his arms on the couch behind Marco’s head. This was their last round, and even with Jean giving less than 50%, Marco was losing.  


"Where are we going, by the way?”  


"I was thinking Club Maria to start with. They don't have the best music, but they have cheaper alcohol. Then Rose, and if we feel up to it, maybe try Sina.”  


"Club Sina?” Eren repeated, confused. "We've never been there before. I don't think I know anybody who's ever been there. Isn't that the place, that's like super far off and stuff?”  


Jean scoffed, but his eyes were fixed on screen and his shoulders were weirdly tense. Marco fell down again.  


"Nah, man. It's just not on the biggest streets. But it's only like a ten minute walk from Rose.”  


"Then how come we've never been there before? Maria and Rose get boring after a while.”  


Marco was oddly quiet and Jean also took a few seconds to answer.  


"It's a bit... fancy? I guess.”  


"Huh.” Eren didn't particularly care anyway. So when Marco and Jean both put down their controllers and got up, the topic was dropped and they went on their way.  


"So, how's Mikasa?” Jean asked, after a few seconds of silent walking.  


"Good. Well, her flatmate just moved out, but she already found a new girl, so yeah.”  


Jean nodded and Eren wondered if he still had that weird crush on Mikasa, but he wasn't going to ask that, of course. He'd ask Marco later.  


The first club was more of a shabby bar. Maria had two stories, a ratty, tiny staircase, tiled walls that were more so cracked and broken than not and a floor that your shoes stuck to, due to the amount of spilled alcohol and dropped food and other things Eren rather didn't imagine.  


Maria was the kind of place you did not want to be in past midnight. The people wanted more than just to dance and the police either didn't bother coming around or went without a reason, knowing they'd find something anyway. It was the kind of place that Connie from your class tells you about. Because his brother, who is three years above you and old enough for alcohol and clubs, saw some dude get shot in the third stall of the men’s bathroom.  


It looked and smelled like that was entirely possible.  


Marco, Jean and Eren each started off with a beer. Jean didn’t bring his car and Eren wondered for a second if they planned to walk all the way back drunk. But then Marco asked for a refill and Eren had to keep up. The moment the music was good enough for Eren to dance was the moment Marco decided they had to change clubs.  


But Rose was very far away.  


"Marco!”  


"Yes?”  


"Marco! How far?”  


Eren was nearly five feet away at most, but he still felt the need to shout at the top of his lungs.  


"We're halfway there,” he answered and Eren got the feeling that Marco and Jean weren't nearly as drunk as he was.  


After what felt like a small hike through town, they finally got to the better club, with more expensive alcohol but good music. And they actually danced a lot more than they drank. Sometime around two, they were at the "drunk without boundaries” point. Marco and Jean had gotten super close and danced more with each other than with anybody else. Eren had a small group of three girls he was showing off for, since he'd never been good at actually dancing with people, rather than next to them.  


He can't really remember getting from Maria to Sina. He can remember thinking he'd never find his way back there alone, since there were just so many left turns and right turns and the door looked just like any other. But the music was booming. And Eren also distinctly remembered thinking "This doesn't look so much fancier than Rose.”  


He also remembered dancing with random people, two really cool guys with some awesome moves and Jean pulling him away, asking if he was alright.  


"This place is awesome!” He responded and Jean, with wide eyes had asked "You're okay with all this?”  


"Sure, do I look like I mind in any way?”  


And at that moment, drunk of his ass and dancing with two ripped guys of which only one still wore a shirt, it did seem like Eren was fine with it.  


And he was, really. Until Jean left to find Marco and Eren had to sit down at the bar to understand what was happening.  


"See anything you like?” a random voice questioned from beside him.  


"The music is good.” Eren answered to the stranger next to him, still staring at Jean and Marco, closer yet again than they had been in Rose.  


"Is he your ex?”  


"My what?”  


Eren had heard, just hadn't really understood. He turned around to look into a pair of steel blue eyes.  


"Those guys you keep watching, is one of them your ex?”  


Steel blue eyes, short black hair with an undercut and was that black eyeliner or did he just have really long lashes? Man, it was dark in here. The music was booming and Eren felt captivated by something, but in his drunken haze he found himself unable to identify what it was that irked him about this man.  


"Nah, man, I don't swing like that.”  


The guy frowned, cocked his head and asked something but the music was booming too loud.  


"What!?”  


"Why are you here then?” Suddenly now, the man’s words were clear in his ear. Eren swore he could feel his lips form them, that was how close the stranger had leaned in.  


What did he mean about that, though? He'd just wanted to go out and have a nice time clubbing with Jean and Marco. Sure, Sina wasn't exactly a common club to go to, at least none of his friends ever went. Eren didn't really get why, though. The music was better and the people seemed to be a lot looser with each other, especially around this time of night, but that might just be the alcohol. Well, it wasn't as packed as the other clubs, but that was probably because there were so many guys and so little girls around. Actually, now that he looked for them, Eren couldn't spot any- oh!  


Oh...  


Eren turned back to his friends. Now, that he knew what he was looking for, he felt kind of blind. The forehead touches, those smiles, that unrelenting eye contact and the fact that Jean's hand slid down Marco's waist to grab his ass.  


Eren felt a pinch of some sort. He hadn't known that Jean and Marco liked each other like that. Now that he thought about it, it had been kind of obvious though. They looked happy, dancing like that. No wonder Jean never shut up about Marco. They were a couple.  


"You frozen or something?”  


Eren flinched back when the warm breath tickled his ear again. He turned around to look back into the man's eyes. He looked a little older than Eren, but not by too much. Early to mid twenties tops.  


He was oddly attractive too. With an aura of strength and certainty around him. He wasn't the kind of person to plan ahead the conversation with the cashier at Target and still mumble the words in the wrong order when speaking. He looked like he could handle decisions well. This increased the instant respect factor enormously. Eren was really bad at decision making.  


He moved his mouth, but Eren couldn't hear what he said, so the guy got up and leaned in.  


"Feeling left out?”  


Eren shuddered. His voice was deep too, gravelly, while Eren's voice sometimes still cracked in the most ridiculous situations. Like now.  


"Huh?” Eren’s voice did this weird thing when it broke and suddenly came out much higher than planned. The man before him chuckled and pulled him from the bar.  


He was about a head shorter than Eren, but his grip was firm and Eren didn't think a second to resist it.  


Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the music or the fact that it was already so late – it was probably the alcohol – but Eren needed less than five seconds to fall into the rhythm that already carried everyone else over the dancefloor. He kept looking back at Marco and Jean until the guy with the dark hair and the deep voice started dancing with him. Eren felt clumsy and stiff but at the same time didn't care.  


There was sweat and heat and the smell of alcohol and then there was a random body pushing him forwards, tumbling. It was awkward almost banging heads with the short guy. Booming music in the background, strobe lights capturing the smile creeping onto his face as if Eren were taking pictures of him in continuous advanced mode.  


For a second, Eren didn't realize where he was, didn't realize the guy was coming closer, that he pulled Eren's head down, since Eren was still quite a bit taller than him.  


Then, in the middle of the dancefloor, the vile taste of strong liquor on a sloppy tongue pushed behind his lips by a complete strange; Eren had his first kiss. He didn't know what to do with his hands, or with his tongue or with the other guy's tongue that was just oddly twisting around in there. He just stood there, frozen in shock. It lasted an eternity and yet it was over very quickly.  


The guy pulled back. Eren was left to look down at him, confused and much too drunk to realize what had just happened. The music seemed like another kind of silence, forcing his other senses to hone on what had happened.  


While it didn't feel like what he had imagined a kiss would feel, it was a wonderful feeling to be this close to another person. He'd never come closer with somebody outside his immediate family than his short hugs with Armin, which got less and less while they grew up. It felt good.  


Which must have shown on his face. The guy he'd just shared his first kiss with took his hand and pulled him to the side. There wasn't really time to think whether he wanted this or whether he didn't. It wasn't how he'd ever imagined his first kiss to be like. Not at prom or on a date with a pretty girl he'd asked out with a stutter. Not initiated by him in a burst of courage.  


But then, in the back of the club, where there was more room to breathe and less people that shoved and danced, he had his second kiss. It was similar to the first one. Still surprising, still weird and still very hectic.  


He caught himself analyzing the taste, thinking the taste was a lot stronger than beer. The guy had to be over twenty-one at least then.  


Eren shivered as the guy’s hands found their way underneath his shirt, he felt himself flex automatically, trying to show what little muscle he had and heard the guy chuckle in response.  


His eyes were fluttering as his hands boldly sneaked underneath the other guy's shirt, feeling the well toned muscles. Obviously a lot more toned than Eren's little definition he was so proud of. But he was much too drunk to feel self conscious anymore. Especially when he was being tugged by his hair in a way that felt oddly good.  


His feet moved into all directions, his back hitting into people and walls and doors. And all the while somebody was eating away at his lips and his neck. Luckily, Eren's nails were really short. Otherwise he would have scratched the guy’s back and neck bloody already.  


The bathroom was a lot quieter than the club, but Eren had trouble hearing what was being said. The music had been so loud, he heard everything muffled as if he wore earplugs.  


Why were they in the bathroom anyway? He didn't need to go. But he was pushed and pulled into a stall and the door was shut and suddenly he stumbled and was on his knees.  


"Huh? What?”  


Eren blinked, looking up confused. From down there, the guy seemed so much taller. Tall and muscular and also kind of scary. His hips were pushed out, which seemed weird, since now his groin was only inches from Eren's face.  


"I said you have gorgeous eyes,” he apparently repeated, mumbling and Eren heard the alcohol in his voice.  


Eren barely remembered hearing him speak the first time. He barely remembered getting into this position. A position he felt everything but comfortable in.  


"Uhm uh,” he protested, but he could barely hear it himself. The guy didn't either, over the music and the chatter of people in the bathroom and outside. His hands left Eren’s head and reached his belt buckle.  


That's when Eren realized what was happening. He decidedly did not want this. But his mind felt hazy and the guy seemed to interpret Eren's weak pushing as something else. He pushed down his pants and Eren wanted to tell him to stop, but something kept him from speaking.  


That something came blasting out of his mouth right before the guy could take his dick out. Eren was holding on tightly to the guy's waistband while throwing up all over the guy's pants, shoes and his own knees. Thank Jean for making him eat stuff in between drinks and fuck Jean for making him drink so much.  


Suddenly there was a change of position, and he was leaning over the toilet, an arm around his chest and another holding his hair back. He was shaking and retching and didn't want to turn around.  


"Are you gonna barf again or was that it?” the guy asked and Eren felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He shook his head and the arm around his chest tightens and slowly pulls him up. Eren sways a little, but doesn't know if he should be grateful for the guy not letting go of him.  


"You're hammered, huh? How old are you?” said the guy, obviously drunk himself.  


"Nineteen.” Eren spoke slowly, the last thing he wanted was to seem even more hammered than he felt.  


"First time drinking?” Eren shook his head again.  


"Well, you were overdoing it, brat.”  


He pulled him out of the stall and started wiping the puke off Eren's pants and shoes with the paper napkins. Eren watched him with a mixture of fascination and disgust.  


"This is no good. What kind of underwear are you wearing?” he said, whilst stepping out of his pants.  


"What? Why do you wanna know?”  


"Because your pants are full of puke. It's disgusting.” He threw his own pants in the bin beneath the sink and looked at Eren, fully expecting him to do the same.  


"What? No! I'm not throwing my pants away. They were expensive.”  


Well, to him they had been, anyway.  


"I guess your too drunk to care about the stench. How are you going to get home? Your two friends didn't look sober to me.”  


"Oh we walked here. Was a pretty long walk.”  


"Okay, brat, I'm going to go look for your friends so they can take you home. Let's hope at least they know how much they can handle.”  


"Eren.”  


"What?” the guy turned around and leaned closer, indicating that he hadn't understood Eren over the noise. That wasn't really his fault. Eren had just mumbled it.  


"My name is Eren. Don't call me brat. I don't like it.”  


The guy backed away, a little startled at first, then he laughed as if Eren were a six year old boasting about his maturity. His breath smelled like alcohol and smoke. It made Eren want to barf again.  


"Okay, Eren,” his laughing stopped and he put a hand on Eren's shoulder. He pushed him backwards until he landed back in the stall and on the toilet. It was probably gross since there was no lid on top, but he was too drunk to notice or care.  


"I'm still going to fetch your friends, though. You stay here, I don't trust you to walk a straight line or anything even remotely close to that. Just wait here.”  
"You're wearing boxer shorts.”  


"So? Better than jeans full of puke. It's just like shorts.”  


Eren didn't realize he was openly staring at the guy’s crotch until he found himself rubbing the waistband between his fingers. Since the guy was smaller than him, he probably could have looked inside had he sat up a little, instead he kept studying the fabric, pulling it closer towards him and further away from the guy's hips.  


He only noticed, when the guy stopped him from pulling any further by taking Eren’s hands and prying them off. Eren looked up, probably blushing. The guy gave him a pat on the shoulder and left.  


Somehow that made his mood sink. Had he just lost his first kiss and probably almost his virginity to a stranger man in a club? Fuck, Eren didn't even know if he liked guys.  


He had never imagined something like this. Everybody was always so happy after a first kiss. It was supposed to taste like cherry chapstick and tic tacs. It was supposed to be awkward and slow and last long enough to know what was happening. And it wasn't supposed to be with a stranger.  


His heart didn't seem to know whether it should be angry or sad, but the lump in his throat was not something he wanted to let the others see. Or maybe he just didn't want that man to see him that way. Somehow, crying in front of him seemed much worse than throwing up all over him. But he was never good at concealing his emotions.  


If anything, he was determined when he pulled himself up by the stall walls, staggered. One step forward, two steps back and closed his eyes, willing the bile to go back down his throat.  


His mind was a strobe light. Every time he opened his eyes he was somewhere else. The club, in between the dancers, the drinkers and the music, staggering out into the street and emptying his stomach again underneath a streetlight and suddenly he didn't know where he was anymore.  


He leaned against the streetlight, sinking to the ground next to the pool of his own sickness. He managed to check his phone, not taking note of the time, but ten missed calls by either Marco or Horseface Jean. The image of those two on the dancefloor was burned into his mind. Jean's hand grabbing Marco's ass kept repeating over and over like a scratched record. Eren felt betrayed and alone. He didn't want to call either of them.  


"Eren? Do you need me to pick you up already?"  


“Pssshhhh already? It's super late.”  


"It's half past one, I had expected you to call me around four, to be honest."  


What. Had he said that out loud?  


"Yes... Where are you?"  


“In front of S-....” Sina is a gay club. Mike doesn't need to know about that.  


“-in front of Rose! The club. The street there. Somewhere around there. I'll just come to Rose.”  


"Okay. I'll call when I'm there."  


When had he called Mike? Woah.  


"Okay, no. You know what? Just stay right where you are."  


Eren hung up. He had no idea what direction Club Rose was in. He remembered a lot of turns and a bakery...or a mortician, his memory was kind of spotty.  


"Eren!” a familiar voice called out from behind him. Eren felt much too tired to answer.  


"Eren!”  


"Hm?"  


"Eren!"  


"Stop yelling," he slurred, listening to the sound of footsteps jogging closer while his head leaned to the side.  


"Hey, brat. I told you to wait. What are you running off for?"  


You're my first kiss, did you know that?  


"Why're you here?" Eren managed to say.  


Oh good, this time he hadn't said it aloud. The man slowed down, coming up next to him, kneeling next to Eren's vomit. It smelled bad. Eren hadn't really noticed that before.  


"Why am I here? I told you to wait. You're drunk off your ass and just ran off. Do you even know where you're going?"  


"Rose." Eren slurred, trying not to think about the vomit. On the pavement, on his jeans, in the toilet, on the pants in the bin. Tried not to think about the man in his boxer shorts kneeling next to him.  


"You're not hopping clubs like this, are you?"  


Eren doesn't look up. He does not want to see this stranger. He never understood how you could just make out with a random person. Somebody you didn't know, somebody that didn't know you. That didn't know what you liked and didn't, what you had done before and what was new.  


Somebody that didn't know what you were really insecure about.  


His thoughts were scattered and nonsensical in his intoxicated state.  


"I'm not a brat."  


"What?"  


"He'll pick me up at Rose. Mike,” Eren fumbled, barely able to make proper sentences let alone walk on his own.  


Eren looked up and suddenly realized, that maybe he wasn't the only one who got kissed by a random stranger that night. He was drunk and it was dark and he was distracted but the man's face was filled with... something. Or too many things at once. Or maybe nothing at all.  


Maybe there was so much nothing on his face that he was bursting with it.  


"Then let's get you to Rose."  


Warm arms snuck around his back, under his own arms, helped him to his feet and held him steady. Eren was sure he could let go and wouldn't fall.  


He looked at the clean shaven jaw, the pale skin, the shadows under the focused eyes and mouth pressed together in a thin line, his soft lips hidden from view.  


And since Eren is the sort of person that doesn't watch his tongue or think about his words before they come out and since being more hammered than ever doesn't really help in that regard, he hears himself asking something, he's not going to have the courage to ask for a very long time. Oh the irony, that the alcohol that helps him ask this question is also responsible for his inability to recall the answer in the future.  


"What are you so insecure about?"


	3. Verfangen

 

Eren woke up in a large bed, the blankets kicked off and the pillow next to his hip. It took him a while to realize where he was. The curtains had been drawn and he could see the outline of plants on the windowsill. This was Mr. Zacharias' apartment.  


A quick look down revealed he was only in his t-shirt and boxers, but he didn't remember taking off his pants. He didn't really remember much of anything, really. The man must have picked him up from the bar. But why the hell was he sleeping in his bed like this?  


His head was pounding and he rubbed his eyes, his fingers scratching over his scalp. There was a foul taste in his mouth and a scene of a man taking off his vomit soiled pants flashed before Eren's eyes. Things came back to him. Things which he prayed had been a dream.  


If they hadn't, then Eren had just lost his first kiss to some random, horny stranger in a gay bar.  


In a gay bar, because of Jean and Marco. Because two of Eren's best friends were gay. And in a relationship with each other for who knows how long. And they hadn't told him. They hadn't told him because... why? Because they were scared of his reaction? They thought he'd leave them hanging or beat them up or what the hell? Fuck.  


You're okay with all this?  


That sentence, the wide, worried eyes on a guy known for his confidence. What had he thought Eren would do? What kind of a person did he think Eren was? Sure, they had never had the cuddle-sleepover-three-hour-call kind of friendship, but despite all of their jabbing and fights, he would have thought Jean knew him enough to trust him with these things. They had known each other for so long. Suddenly Eren recalled a lot of moments and a lot of fights that could have led Jean deciding to keep this from him.  


He felt sick to his stomach again.  


Once he stood up, still brooding over the past night, he padded over to the door, intending to leave for his place and never come into eye contact with Mr. Zacharias again. He did manage to sneak out of the flat, knowing the place well and hiding behind a large ficus on his way out once he spotted Mr. Zacharias standing in the kitchen. Thankful for being barefoot, he made it across the room to the door without a sound. But the door opening and closing must have been audible to the man.  


And standing in front of his own door, he realised his keys were in fact not stored in his boxer shorts. If he came home like this, he would have to ring the bell and his mother would have to come and open the door. She would know he had been drinking and she would question him about it and he would lie and she would know and he would end up telling her everything and probably crying like a baby throughout all of it.  


He really did feel like crying, but he was too old to cry to his mother. He would call Armin later.  


Since waking his mother was out of the question, he turned around, braced himself and walked back into Mr. Zacharias' flat.  


"Your pants are in the dryer. I'll get them for you.", the large man mumbled, placing two plates with bacon and eggs on the small dining table. One obviously for Eren - the tall glass of water with an aspirin next to it gave that away.  


"Thank you," Eren nodded, shyly walking over and taking a seat. He swallowed the pill and downed half of the glass after the door fell shut. Was it impolite to start eating without Mr. Zacharias or would he think it was weird if Eren waited?  


Eren settled for being polite, waited and looked around the room he knew so well. He wondered if the man talked to his plants. Probably. He'd probably given them names too. The ficus looked like a Felix. And the orchid was probably an Ophelia. They were so far apart, what if they liked each other but their relationship was doomed because plants can't move? Felix and Ophelia.  


What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Ophelia is the sun.  


Eren was sure most of the alcohol was out of his system.  


He busied himself with his eggs, spinning the story of Felix and Ophelia in his head. Weird how much he remembered from his english class lessons. It made him wonder how he had still managed to flunk his exams like he did.  


The door opened and closed behind him and Mr Zacharias placed Eren's neatly folded clothes on the windowsill next to Ophelia. He pulled back the chair opposite to Eren and sat down with a grunt.  


They ate in uncomfortable silence, Eren trying to form a suitable conversation in his head.  


"Thank you for picking me up yesterday," he started.  


Mr. Zacharias grunted. Eren translated it into 'Don't mention it.'  


"You didn't get called in tonight?" Eren continued, asking politely.  


"I did. Only just came back."  


"Oh. Guess I slept through that, huh?" He laughed awkwardly, wanting nothing but to go home.  


"Sorry for calling you so late."  


Mr Zacharias stopped chewing and looked up, swallowed then grinned broadly.  


"I figured you were drunk but I didn't think you were drunk enough to have a mental blackout. You called around half past one. Usually when I pick up teenagers who go clubbing, it's around three or four. Was that your first time?"  


Eren had to think of the stranger again and wondered if he often went clubbing.  


"First time drinking like that."  


Mr. Zacharias laughed.  


"It gets worse when you get older." But soon his humor swept away a little and he looked concerned, slightly.  


"This was a one time thing, I hope. I won't tell your mother about what was going on there and I'll take care of the stains in my car, but be more careful next time. You need to know how much you can take, Eren. And if you're not sure, stop."  


Oh god, was his neighbour giving him the "know your limit" talk?  


"At least you weren't alone. It would have been hard to get you into the car without Levi."  


"Levi?"  


Mr. Zacharias scratched his head.  


"Or something like that. Your friend, the black haired shortie that near carried you into my car."  


Eren paled. His name was Levi, huh? Good to know.  


"Oh, yeah. I don't know him that well. I'd say we're more... acquaintances." Eren's face turned red when he realized something.  


"Stains?" he asked weakly. It could likely be puke but Eren had the feeling it may not be.  


"Don't worry about it. Take some aspirin with you, sneak into your room and grab a few more hours of sleep." Mr. Zacharias was focused on the food on his plate, determined not to look at Eren. Eren felt his heart stutter in embarrassment. He sincerely hoped he hadn't pissed inside the policeman's car but he had no way of checking. Mr. Zacharias had washed his pants, but it had been gross when he left the club. When the stranger, Levi, had followed him in boxer shorts and taken him to Rose.  


Eren took his plate and glass and placed them in the sink. He wanted to leave but felt it would be impolite to just leave the dishes unwashed and the bed unmade. Mr. Zacharias noticed Eren hesitating.  


"Don't worry about it. Just get home before Carla wakes up."  


"Thank you, sir." Eren should probably start calling Mr. Zacharias by his first name after he had helped him out like this, but him calling Eren's mom by her first name send a shiver down Eren's back every time he heard it. Eren wasn't ready for this yet.  


He left without another word, grabbing his clothes on the way out and closing the door behind him. He fished the key from the left front pocket of his jeans and snuck inside undetected.  


Eren had been unable to sleep, the constant throbbing a reminder of the last night. It was much earlier than the times he would usually get up on the weekends and it seemed as if his mother let him sleep in. She did open the door at eight-thirty, to assure that her son was back, but it was quickly shut and the room returned to being dark.  


Eren was perfectly fine with over-analyzing whatever memories he had left of the past night. There had been a lot of alcohol, more than he had ever had before. Part of that was his own fault, part of it was Jean and Marco’s, since they had both left him at the bar on his own a few times and since Jean had ordered him some pretty hard stuff in between.  


Eren wondered if they knew that he knew about them. And if he was the only one that knew, or the only one that hadn't known, that they were a couple. Eren wondered if they had seen him; pulled onto the dancefloor by Levi, this frankly pretty good looking guy at a gay bar. If they had seen them not only dance in a way Eren never thought he would dance with another guy, but also kiss.  


Eren could still feel those lips against his. Hectic, a little forceful, but as if by memory, he could feel a tingling spread over his body. In retrospect, it really hadn't been bad, probably. Actually, he kind of felt like doing it again.  


The doorbell rang and Eren almost fell out of bed, feeling caught. His mother had opened the door before he could get up off his bed. He heard voices, muffled by the door but still understandable. The colour draining from his face, recognizing them immediately.  


"Oh hello, boys! Good morning."  


"Good morning, Mrs. Jäger..." the choir that was Jean and Marco answered in unison. Jean’s voice sounded pressed, Marco’s hurried. Oh this was going to be bad, wasn't it?  


"Eren is still asleep. When did you boys get back yesterday? You two look like you haven't slept a bit!"  


Moooom!  


"Uh, haha, yeah." Eren could practically see Jean shift his stance and scratch at the back of his head.  


"Well, come on in, you two."  


Eren stood in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do. He wasn't ready to face his friends. What would they think of him? Going off on his own with a stranger in that club.  


The door opened and Eren stood there like a deer in headlights.  


"Eren!"  


The door to his room fell shut and the light was turned on. Marco pulled him into a hug and Jean sank to the floor.  


"Thank god! We thought you were in the hospital or at the police station or..."  


"Why would you think that?" Eren asked, dumbfounded.  


"He has a wild imagination," Jean groaned in response, his face hidden behind his hands.  


Eren, taken aback by the hug, leaned backwards, stumbling a little. Marco let go and stepped back, closer to Jean. He looked visibly relieved and shared his sentiment with Jean by giving him a certain look. How the hell had he not noticed before?  


Eren coughed, shifted, and smiled awkwardly. Better get this over with.  


"So, you guys... huh?"  


It was hard to miss how Jean and Marcos eyes connected. They looked both worried and hesitant. Jean spoke first.  


"Uh, yeah man..." He seemed at a loss for words, avoiding Eren's eyes, while Marco took a deep breath.  


"Look, Eren, uhm..."  


"Am I the first or the last one to find out?", Eren blurted out, since this was kind of what was bugging him the most. "Oh, and congrats, by the way."  


Jean stared at him and for a few seconds there was an uncomfortable silence in the room that Eren couldn't identify. Suddenly, Jean got up, walked over and slung his arms around Eren, breathing deeply.  


"Thanks, man. Means a lot."  


"What?"  


"Nothing, forget it."  


But Jean was smiling when he stepped back and it looked genuine.  


Eren was neither the first to find out, nor the last, as it turned out. Armin had figured it out years ago, so had Mikasa. Their parents knew and now Eren did too. Eren had been more shocked by the fact that those two had been a couple for four years without him noticing than about the fact that those two had been a couple for four years.  


They spent the morning talking about things Eren had never thought he would ever feel the need to talk about. Jean's insecurity, Jean's wild imagination and, surprisingly, Jean being most afraid of Eren's reaction. When Eren had disappeared after seeing Jean and Marco on the dancefloor, the worst thoughts had run through his head. They had never been the best of friends, that was for sure, which is also partly why Eren was so moved by this. Jean had genuinely thought Eren would no longer want to continue their friendship. He had imagined him storming out in disgust, with the intent of never speaking to Marco or him again.  


"I mean, you're unpredictable, man," Jean justified and Eren couldn't really argue with that.  


When they breached the topic of where Eren had disappeared to, he suddenly wasn't as involved in the conversation as before and perceptive Marco noticed immediately.  


"Was it that bad? Did you go straight home?" Marco asked. Eren wasn't sure whether he meant the club or seeing Jean and Marco, but the answer was the same.  


"Neither. I had too much to drink and didn't feel good, so I went home."  


Jean nodded and Marco frowned.  


"You should have said something. You didn't look like you were in any state to walk home. Did you at least call a taxi or something?"  


Eren shook his head, searching for a way to phrase an answer without lying and without sounding suspicious.  


"No, some stranger helped me get to Club Rose. My neighbour picked me up there."  


"Oh, good," Marco said but Jean didn't agree.  


"No, not good. We searched all over the place for you!"  


"Why would you search all over the place for me if you thought I was so disgusted by you, that I couldn't stand to wait around and talk to you after seeing you guys together?"  


"Man, you were too drunk to walk straight, so we put you on a chair and told the barkeeper not to get you anything. We felt awful for leaving you and going dancing, even if you were disgusted by us, you couldn't have gotten far. We were worried, man."  


Jean whispered the last part, obviously uncomfortable with it. Eren didn't answer, he just looked at the ground, ashamed.  


He didn't tell them anything about Levi. Not about the kiss, what happened in the stalls or why he left the club at all.  


They didn't talk that much anymore afterwards. Carla invited them to breakfast and they sat in silence at the small kitchen table. When Jean and Marco left not much later, Eren walked them out. He felt the need to thank them, instead he lifted his right arm and hugged Jean a little longer than usual.

A couple of days passed. Mr Zacharias goes in and out for dinner, luckily the stains in his car aren't mentioned once. Eren goes to school, goes home, walks dogs, makes errands and goes over his list. He has all the small things he needs like handles, threshold ramps and tools. He had called the landlord and negotiated a bit. The landlord would pay for part of the kitchen renovations, but not enough for professional renovation help. So Eren had created another list. Jean and Marco would come to help, Armin and Mikasa of course and then also Annie, Mikasa's flatmate. She was, according to Mikasa, more than capable of doing some physical work. And meanwhile Mike would distract Carla for the day.  


They would have to be fast and organized. Eren was a bit worried that they weren't enough people for the whole flat. Maybe he could ask Hannes to come as well.  


He still had four days until his mother's birthday. Mikasa would arrive Saturday morning, after Mike left with his mom. Eren and her split the cost, Mike had pitched in a little bit as well in form of a new dining table - the project had gotten much bigger than anticipated. He was happy about it.  


Thursday morning was slow. Eren skipped the last lesson and went to the supermarket close by, pulling out a wrinkled list with several groceries in cursive. Mrs Schulz, albeit being over eighty, and despite her shaky hands still had a much prettier handwriting than Eren ever hoped or aspired to achieve. With three bags filled to the brim and a heavy backpack he walked home. Mrs Schulz lived on the third floor, just beneath them. She was a very sweet old lady, with a big family all over west europe and a granddaughter in finland. Once she begun talking about her, there was no end to the stories. Eren had heard most of them multiple times already, but found it impolite to say anything.  


He had to set the bags down for a moment, the handles had been digging into his palms and through the cold spring air, he could already barely feel his fingers.  


There was a little stop he should make before going home. That way he wouldn't have to go again at a later time. Mr. Aktan, also from the third floor, lived opposite of Mrs. Schulz. His family was equally as large as that of Mrs. Schulz, and they lived all over eastern Europe. Mr. Aktan’s son occasionally came to visit with his wife and afterwards Eren would hear the same thing again and again. The lack of grandchildren greatly disturbed Mr. Aktan. Especially since he constantly had to hear from Mrs. Schulz’s granddaughter.  


Like Mrs. Schulz, he had also lost his partner a few years back. Eren and Mikasa had a bet going for how long it would take the two of them to get together.  


Anyway, Mr Aktan received most of his food from a company that brought him the meals directly every day. Eren rarely had to buy anything for him and most of the things were very basic and could be bought at any shop. One thing Mr Aktan valued too much to buy it from just any store was his tea. A certain type of black tea that he received from a small, family-run, Turkish food store.  


It was located so far away from the main streets and so very hidden behind run down buildings, abandoned shops and old cars that their customers consisted solely of people they knew by name. The quality of the food and the variety of selection turned the little shop into a real insider-tip.  


Eren grabbed hold of the bags again and turned into an alleyway. The first time it had taken him fifteen minutes, his shattered pride and two extra minutes on Google maps to find it. Now, when he entered, he received a warm greeting from Mrs. Yavuz, she and her husband owned the shop.  


"Hello, Eren! Same as always?" she almost shouted over from the cash register. The customer that stood in front of her flinched a little and balled his fist in obvious annoyance. Eren walk towards them and stood behind the customer.  


"Yes, thank you."  


She turned towards a box on the ground and took five packages out.  


"I'm sorry, but we're out of stock. I can only give you one. Just come back in two days, the old man can hardly use up this much in two days."  


She turned around and grinned at the other customer. "Unlike other people."  


A dark laugh broke out and suddenly shudders ran down Eren's body.  


"Don't complain, I'm your best customer."  


Eren watched her pack four packages in one bag and placed the fifth in front of Eren. He placed a bill next to it and watched her count the change.  


"Good taste," the other customer commented with a deep voice and Eren's hand haltered over the change. He stepped forward to look at the man. Was that-? Shit.  


"You..." Eren mumbled, watching Levi's eyes widen in surprise.  


"You two know each other?" Mrs. Yavuz asked, still in the typical small talk way, completely oblivious.  


"In a way," Levi answered. He slipped her a much much larger bill than necessary, his eyes still focused on Eren.  


Eren felt like a deer in headlights. His heart contracted painfully and for some reason, he felt like he was about to panic. He grabbed the tea, put it in one of the bags and picked up the coins off the counter.  


"Bye, Mrs Yavuz!", he yelled, still standing way too close to them and then turned around and hurried towards the door.  


He ran against the glass door, believing it to open outwards, but of course it didn't. With both hands full, he lifted one arm and tried to open the door with just his pointer finger, but of course that didn't work out half as well as he had hoped.  


"Wait, let me get that for you."  


A hand wrapped around the handle from behind Eren and he stepped out of the way as the door opened. Maybe he shouldn't have, but he looked up again, into blue eyes lined with circles, dark hair falling all around them and a pale soft mouth, turned into a smile. Eren felt a tingling on his lips.  


"Hey," Levi said.  


"Hey," Eren whispered.  


They stood there for a couple seconds, caught off guard at the entrance of the door until Levi nodded with his head towards the exit.  


"Well, can't stand around here all day." And after another second, he added "...Eren, right?"  


Eren felt his heartbeat in his throat. He could barely manage a nod. But he kept staring at Levi, at his lips, remembering how weird and quick and nice it had been. He hadn't registered the question and kept staring until Levi placed a hand between his shoulder blades and gently guided him through the doors.  


"What a coincidence to meet you here. You have great taste in tea," Levi said, smiling politely. Eren swallowed and pulled himself together.  


"I don't drink tea." Good job.  


Levi lifted an eyebrow and looked at the package on top of one of the bags.  


"Then why did you buy it? Pretty expensive if you won't drink it."  


"I do errands for a couple of elderly people living in the same building as me. One of them is this Turkish grandpa who seems to have no desires for anything but his tea. Kinda weird, really." He laughed awkwardly. Levi doesn't.  


"I think it's likeable."  


Eren feels like he said something wrong. He smiles awkwardly, sinking into himself. Despite being quite a bit taller, he felt horribly vulnerable.  


"Do you like tea?" Eren asked carefully to escape the silence.  


"I can hardly think of anything better," Levi answers but Eren still feels awkward.  


They walk in silence and Eren needs to muster all his courage to dare turn his head a little. Levi is dressed similarly to the first time he'd seen him. A black biker jacket and jeans, not the ones he had thrown up on. Mortified by the memory, Eren felt himself blushing. Why did his mind always think of the things he did not want to remember?  


"Where are you headed?"  


"Home," Eren answered, turning his wrist inwards and outwards, making the bags turn fast and faster. He didn't want to look at Levi's face. He barely knew the man and he made Eren more nervous than anybody else had so far.  


"Okay, let's go. I'll walk you." Levi took one of the bags from Eren, too quickly for him to react. Eren could still feel his fingers on his hand and had to think of his tickling lips. He may or may not have blushed a little.  


"It's good that I met you here. I've wanted to apologize for that night at the club. For kissing you and... yeah."  


Eren stared at his feet and watched the little cracks on the ground pass by. The bag was still turning with his wrist.  


"I'm sorry for throwing up on you."  


"That's not your fault, you were drunk off your ass."  


"So were you."  


"No, I made conscious decisions that night, that's why I'm apologizing now."  


Eren didn't know what to answer to that. He had been very drunk that night. That he couldn't remember all that much of it was proof enough. How conscious had Levi's decisions been? Not that it mattered much to Eren, he was straight. But it was still a boost for his ego if someone was interested enough in him in a sober state, to drag him out onto the dancefloor and make out.  


"I've had a rough day, I know that's no excuse but it's the main reason why I did what I did. You didn't even know what kind of club that was. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced myself onto you. I wanna make it up to you. Can I invite you out or something?"  


Eren all too quickly nodded. Food sounded good.  


"I can't right now, though."  


Levi waved him off.  


"It's fine, I'll give you my number and you can call me if you have time."  


Eren stopped, reached into his pocket and opened a new contact. He typed while Levi slowly told him the number. Not much later Eren took the bags from Levi and nodded towards a large and frankly pretty run down and ugly building.  


"I live here, so... I'll call you when I have time, okay?"  


Levi nodded and walked away. Eren could still feel a tingling, but not just on his lips. It spread into his whole body and Eren couldn't help the smile that snuck its way onto his face.  


It had been very considerate of Levi to apologize like that. Not everybody would have, especially considering the fact that Eren hadn't exactly acted like he wanted no part of it.  


He delivered the groceries and the tea as if he were in some kind of stupor. His mind kept drifting back to that club and those lips and that voice. It was weird, really. Eren had never thought this way about a man before, it had never occurred to him and he had never had much to do with the topic. But now, with Marco and Jean, it seemed so much more possible and so much more likely that he felt dizzy and overwhelmed.  


He grabbed the phone from near the door and disappeared in his room, being a lot briefer with his mother than usual. Sitting cross-legged on his bed his thumbs hadn't decided yet which numbers should be dialed. Eren saw himself dialing the number he had just received.  


He could be honest, dial it and just ask for dinner right away. If this had a been a girl's number - if Levi had been a girl - Eren would not have hesitated. Levi would say yes, otherwise he wouldn't have offered, but Eren was shocked by his own interest. This was a completely new aspect of his life and he didn't really know what to do with it. And whenever he didn't know what to do, he knew he had a better option than to just barge in head on like usual.  


But which one should he call?  


He didn't want to tell his sister on the phone. Mikasa would want to know right away, but Eren feared her reaction to be over the top, as it was most of the time if something concerned him. Then again, he wouldn't be able to keep anything from Armin. Mikasa was easier. If there was something Eren wasn't telling her, she simply figured he'd come to her if it was pressing. Armin left no such space. He knew immediately if anything was wrong and chances were he'd guess correctly before Eren even had the chance to answer. It was both scary and sweet how well they knew each other by now.  


But that settled it.  


"Hey Armin." He hadn't consciously dialed the number, then again that tended to happen whenever he most needed to talk.  


"Oh god! What happened?"  


Eren flinched and reflexively pulled the phone from his ear. If he wanted to, Armin could be loud.  


"What do you mean 'what happened'? Nothing happened. I haven't even told you yet."  


"Eren, that's contradictory."  


"Huh?"  


"You say nothing happened, but immediately afterwards telling me that you haven't told me yet, implied that there is something that has happened which you were going to tell me. It's contradictory."  


"I know what contradictory means."  


"Nevermind. What happened?"  


"I can hear you roll your eyes, you know?"  


A pause. A deep breath. Three seconds in. Three seconds out. Yep, definitely rolling his eyes.  


"Eren, why did you call me?"  


And suddenly, Eren wasn't so keen on telling Armin anymore. He loved the mood when they were just exchanging jokes like this. He always forgot how much he missed Armin.  


"I went partying with Jean and Marco...", he started and stopped as if Armin could already know exactly what happened. He wasn't that good of course, but it was enough to get them to the right topic apparently.  


"Ah, I see. They told you."  


"Yeah."  


Eren fiddled with the hem of his sleeve. He didn't want to go on.  


"How do you think about it?" No leading question, no way to get out with just one word. Armin should be a lawyer. He'd be an asshole lawyer, but a good one.  


"I don't mind really. I'm happy for them but it's not like it's news, apparently, so nothing’s gonna change."  


"What's bugging you then?"  


"Why did they wait so long to tell me? Do I seem like I'd hurt them or judge them or..." Eren trailed off. Other people would have interrupted, Armin always waited until everything was out. So he paused and waited long enough for Armin to know he wouldn't continue.  


"Who knows. I think Jean may give a little more on your opinion than you think and telling people personal things like that with a chance of a negative reaction is hard."  


He had a point, which was why Eren was struggling to keep talking, since this conversation was at the perfect moment and Eren still didn't feel like talking about it. Though, he somewhat must want to, otherwise he wouldn't have called.  


"They didn't tell me, I saw them."  


Armin waited.  


"We were at Sina."  


Armin was still quiet.  


"I was really drunk and didn't realize at first. I didn't think there was anything weird about friends dancing like that. Still don't. I didn't get it until somebody pointed it out to me."  


"Somebody pointed out a gay couple at a gay bar?"  


"How did you know Sina is a gay bar?"  


"Went a couple times with Jean and Marco."  


"You into guys too? I always thought you were sciensexual."  


"Sorry?"  


"You know, science-sexual? Sciensexual? You get turned on by science!"  


Armin didn't laugh. Eren didn't really either. Which was weird, since the joke was hilarious to him.  


"What's up, Eren?"  


"I don't want to talk about it."  


"If that were the case you wouldn't have called me."  


"Shut up."  


It was silent for several minutes while Eren plucked small pieces of fluff from his bedsheet.  


He could occasionally hear Armin turning a page in a book – he was probably studying. Eren was glad he didn't hang up.  


"I kissed someone." he said in the middle of their silence. Armin turned another page in his book.  


"At the gay bar?"  


Eren didn't answer. Maybe Armin shouldn't find out like this.  


"Was it a guy?"  


"Mhm."  


Armin interpreted the yes correctly. And because he was Armin, he always knew what was the wrong and the right thing to say.  


"How was it?"  


"Good." Eren smiled. It had been. His lips started tingling again when thinking about it. Eren felt himself turn red.  


"Who was it?" Eren could hear Armin's soft smile through his gentle tone and his heartfelt much, much lighter.  


But despite that, he didn't tell Armin everything. He told him about Levi, but he didn't tell him about more than the kiss. He might have played it down and he also might have made it seem much nicer than it actually had been. He made himself a little less drunk, erased the taste of strong liquor and smoke, reimagined the kiss to be more gentle, careful and less demanding than it had actually been. He left out the bathroom, the puking, the haze and that awful feeling afterward.  


Armin must have noticed there was something off. But he wasn't good enough to tell which parts, luckily.  


"What's bugging you then?"  


"I met him again, today. We talked a bit and he invited me to dinner."  


"And you don't know if you want to go?"  


Eren had to think at that. He did want to go and would have done so in a heartbeat if Levi had been a girl. What if Eren just thought he liked him, what if he turned out to not like him and only lead him on. What if Eren interpreted way too much into this?  


"I do, kind of, but he's... I mean, I'm not, you know."  


"You're not what? Sure? Gay? Attracted to him?"  


"I'm attracted to him, I think. But I never thought I was, you know."  


"Gay? What's so bad about that? I mean as far as I'm concerned you never were interested in any girls."  


"I wasn't interested in anybody."  


"And now you're interested in somebody who's interested in you. What more could you ask for?"  


"Yeah." Eren mumbled. "You know what, yeah! You're right! I'm gonna call him."  


And his thumb already hovered over the button when he could hear Armin shout for him to wait.  


"What?"  


"Do you even have any idea what to say? Where do you guys want to go? Come on, you started talking to me you can't just leave me with this cliffhanger."  


"A cliffhanger?"  


"Don't worry about it. What are your plans?"  


Eren shrugged but Armin couldn't see that. "I was kind of planing to just wing it."  


And Armin grimaced but Eren couldn't see that. "Okay, uhm, sounds good, but maybe you want a back up plan in case you can't think of anything on the spot?"  


Eren frowned. Plans never worked out for him, but they did when they were Armin’s.  


"What kind of backup plan? Like, where to go? Do you have any ideas?"  


Eren seemed to ponder it.  


"Do you know him a little? What would he enjoy? If you think about giving him a chance, I would try something other than dinner. That's a bit too conventional. You'll want something personal, something that he'll remember more than just any old dinner."  


"I mean, I don't really know anything about him. I met him when he bought tea at that small Turkish shop I told you about. But going out for tea is kind of boring."  


"Doesn't have to be. You could go to a small café instead of a restaurant. You know, those cute ones at the center?"  


Eren thought about dark dressed, straight faced, hard liquor Levi drinking tea out of a pastel porcelain cup in a pastel cafe surrounded by frills and flowers. Suddenly Eren felt he should just wing it instead.  


"Yeeeeeah, that sounds great."  


"If you don't like it we can keep..."  


"Nah, sounds great, I'm gonna call him now, thanks, bye."  


And Armin probably wanted to stop him but Eren had already hung up.  


His heart felt infinitely lighter. Having talked to Armin, he felt strengthened in so many ways. Armin always seemed to amplify his motivation and take away what little insecurities he had.  


With a deep breath he dialed a new number.


	4. Freiwillig

 

Somebody picked up. Eren knew this because the beeping, which signified he was still establishing a connection, had stopped. But it was quiet. Had he missed Levi answering?  


"H-hello?" he asked. It sounded shaky and a bit dumbfounded.  


"Who the hell are you?"  


This was definitely him. But he sounded so angry, like Eren had already personally offended him.  


"Eren?" he answered like it was a question. God this was already a disaster.  


But when Levi heard who it was, his voice was nice, like a flick of a switch. No trace of anger left.  


"Eren? Hey, I didn't think I'd hear from you so soon."  


Eren laughed awkwardly. Shit. Maybe he should have waited at least a day.  


"Yeah, eh, I was wondering, just planning ahead a little, but, you know, like, when you have time and stuff?" Damn, so smooth!  


Levi took a little while to respond. Eren heard some muffled voices through the phone.  


"Look, I don't have any time right now, but I'm usually available in the mornings. So how about breakfast? I know a nice place. This weekend?"  


His words were pressed and came out much too quickly, as if he urgently needed to hang up. Eren felt pressured, not having enough time to think.  


"Uh, yeah sure."  


"Good. Text me the details or something."  


And he had hung up before Eren got the chance to say anything else. There wasn't even a goodbye. Startled, he took down his arm with the phone, staring at the screen. One minute and thirteen secodns was what the timer said. Kind of a rushed first call.  


But he had a date. Breakfast with Levi, this weekend. Maybe on Sunday, since Saturday would be a bit packed.  


Albeit still a bit shocked, Eren smiled. This was a date. He'd never had a date before.  


The sound of his mother knocking against his door startled him. The phone almost fell out of his hand but he managed to press it against his chest in time.  


"Yeah?" he called out, mildly out of breath.  


"Are you done, Eren? I need to make a few calls."  


"Uhm, yeah, yeah sure."  


He opened the door and put the phone in his mother's hands.  


"Is everything alright? That was a pretty long call.", Carla said, fixing her sons hair. Eren grinned.  


"I called Armin. Catching up and everything, you know?"  


"Ah, I see. I haven't seen him in so long. I hope he'll stop by the next time Mikasa comes around," Carla mused, and then took off with the phone.

It was Friday morning, 8:30am, when Eren had a small breakdown at McDonalds. He had had it all planned out, jobs for everyone. Annie and Mikasa, Jean and Marco, Armin and Eren. Eren would also have done small different bits, fine tuning and coordination. But, of course, one day before the big day Mikasa had to call and carefully explain that Annie wasn't coming. And just like that all of Eren's plans were useless. He had tried Hannes, who would be at work, he had tried classmates, Reiner, Bertholdt, everyone he knew well enough to ask, but nobody was available on short notice. Frankly, a lot of them probably just didn't feel like spending their entire Sunday renovating for nothing in return.  


Eren took a bite of his breakfast and frowned over the list of crossed out names.  


Mikasa was going to be there at around the same time as Armin, they should be getting ready to leave already, there wouldn't be any time for them to ask around for somebody willing to help. Perhaps Mrs. Kirschstein could instead do something with his mother and Mr. Zacharias could help instead? But then his mother would suspect something, or she might not want to go at all. She rarely ever went out and she was rarely ever invited out. What were the chances of Mrs. Kirschstein asking her on her birthday for the very first time right after Mr. Zacharias had cancelled.  


Besides, Eren doubted his mother would prefer spending an entire day with Mrs. Kirschstein. As unpleasant as the thought was, her interest in their neighbour was more than blatant.  


Who could he ask? Eren didn't have many friends. All of his good friends and Jean already helped out. Most other people he knew didn't like him enough to help and most of his mother's friends were either working or wouldn't be of much help.  


They wouldn't manage everything in time. It had been a tight schedule already but with one person down? And they had counted on Annie to do some of the more heavy lifting. After all, she was said to come up to par with Mikasa.  


In order to expand the list, Eren grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts. How long was too long of radio silence to for ask a favour like this? Especially if he hardly had known the people before hand, he couldn't really ask now. There was nobody left he knew well enough, and there was nobody who owed him.  


Although...  


He scrolled down his contacts until he got to ‘L’ and hovered over the call button. Levi did say he wanted to make it up to Eren. Maybe, maybe he could make it up by helping him and if he was interested they could still go out for breakfast. As a kind of date, maybe.  


Eren dialed.  


It didn't take more than one ring until he answered. This time, luckily, he didn't sound as harsh and pressed for time.  


"Hello?"  


"H-hey! This is Eren?" Why did it always have to sound like a question? But truthfully, he felt confident about this.  


"Oh, good morning. How are you?"  


"I'm good, uh yes."  


It was silent for a few seconds, Eren still processing the change in mood Levi had undergone since the last time they had talked.  


"Did you decide on a date? Or why are you calling?" That already sounded less nice.  


"Uhm, you know, I was thinking, you wanted this to be kind of a repayment thing, right?"  


"Yes."  


"Okay, so, how about you repay me through hard physical labour tomorrow and maybe we could ...still out for breakfast?" His voice rose a little there at the end, but otherwise, good work.  


"What are you talking about?"  


Eren fidgeted a little.  


"I'm renovating our flat as a surprise for my mother, but one of the helpers can't come so now we're one person short. If you want to make it up to me, this would more than do that..."  


"Oh, alright. When should I be there?"  


"Tomorrow morning, maybe, 9 o'clock? Is that okay for you? I'll send you the address."  


"It's fine, I know where you live. Just tell me the apartment number."  


"How do you..." Eren stopped, confused.  


"I walked you, remember? Now, which apartment?"  


"Seven."  


"Alright. I'll be there."  


And he had hung up. The first thing Eren noticed, was that he hadn't answered his proposal to still have breakfast afterwards. Maybe he didn't really like Eren, and he had misinterpreted this whole thing.  


But Eren wasn't one to give up that quickly of course. He could still ask him on Saturday. Besides, this could be exactly what Armin said a first date needed to be, memorable. A lot more memorable than breakfast anyway.  


He looked at his phone again. 56 seconds. Their calls were getting shorter. Maybe Levi just didn't like cellphones.  


Eren finished his breakfast, grabbed his things and left. Maybe he'd go to biology class today.  


But biology went by slowly and Eren regretted his choice quickly. There were a few snarky remarks from his teacher about his constant absence, but she liked him. She wasn't overly mean to him, like his math and english teachers so biology was one of the classes he tried to come to as often as possible.  


He stayed for English, but he hadn't even bought the book they were supposed to read. Christa shared with him, but he kept spacing out. In math class he knew from the start he had missed too much to be able to follow. His teacher humiliated him at the board and left him standing there, clueless, for as long as possible but Eren hardly cared anymore.  


Mikasa and Armin kept him updated about their whereabouts and he kept his phone underneath his desk the whole time.  


Time in class seemed to stretch to such length that Eren felt it was evening already when he was on his way home. His mother would have just started making dinner, but his plans for the day weren't much bigger than food and sleep anyway so he left it at that. Getting up at seven on a Saturday seemed inhumane and impossible afterall. He would need all the preparation he could get.  


So he slept early and a lot and woke up at seven thirty. The world's quickest shower followed and he woke his mother with a laid breakfast table. Mike had donated a few nice flowers that were sitting in a vase on the small table and while they were eating Eren couldn't stop thinking about the new breakfast table. It would be fun destroying their obnoxiously small table later in the day. He acted oblivious and made some small talk with his mother, careful not to be too obvious about something else being on his mind.  


"What do you want to do today? We could go out, maybe? We haven't gone out in way too long," Eren asked, like the sweet boy he was. As if he had forgotten that Carla already had plans.  


Carla's face fell.  


"Oh honey, I'm actually going out with Mike, but of course you can come along! We'll have a nice day out in town. I really haven't been out for quite a long while, you know?"  


Eren kept eating and shook his head.  


"No, it's fine. You enjoy yourself, I'm gonna go do something with Jean and Marco then, ´cause Marco's back over for the weekend."  


Carla nodded.  


"That's so nice dear. I'm glad you boys are still such good friends. I remember you used to hate Mrs. Kirschstein's boy when you were younger."  


Eren suppressed a ‘still do’ and downed his glass of juice.  


"When are you guys leaving?"  


"In just about half an hour actually."  


"Oh, okay, I'll just give you your present when you come back then."  


"I don't know how long I'll be gone but it will probably be a couple of hours," Carla said with a worried frown. He knew her will-you-be-okay look.  


"Oh, it's fine. I'm just going to get Marco and Jean to come over or something."  


And that settled that.  


Mike knocked at precisely 8:45 am and everything was going perfectly for once. He greeted Carla with a kiss on the cheek and Eren had to look away. He felt guilty for being mad at him for making her happy. But it felt weird imagining his mother with anyone else beside his father. He shouldn't think that way. She deserves someone who made her happy. And seeing her now, in a dress, with her hair made and some makeup on, she seemed so much younger and so much happier.  


"Have fun you two," Eren said, receiving a hidden thumbs up from Mr. Zacharias. The plan was a go.  


Eren closed the door and pulled out his phone, texting in their group chat that his mother was gone and they could come up. Not even two minutes later, he heard the doorbell.  


Mikasa and Armin, equipped with multiple bags and broad grins, entered the flat and enclosed him in a group hug.  


"Hey guys, I'm so glad you're here,” Eren whispered, tightening his arms around them both.  


"I missed you two."  


"We missed you too,” Armin answered into Eren's chest.  


Mikasa was the one to end their hug.  


"So, let's get started. I'm sorry Annie couldn't come, but we'll manage without her."  


Armin set his three bags aside and took off his shoes.  


"Yeah, I asked around but no one could make time on such short notice. Sorry."  


Mikasa put her bags next to Armin's, taking off her shoes as well.  


"Uh, yeah don't worry you guys. Actually I found someone. Who can come over, I mean."  


Mikasa shrugged off her jacket, while Armin stared at him with wide, questioning eyes.  


‘Him?’ he seemed to ask. Eren looked away.  


Armin mouthed an ‘Oh my god,’ before Mikasa turned around.  


"Really? Who?"  


"U-uhm just some guy I met a couple days ago. He's...cool."  


Armin stared at the ceiling, or at god asking for help.  


"I'll unpack this on here, okay?" Mikasa asked, leaving the topic and lifted the bags onto the kitchen table. At that moment the doorbell rang and Armin disappeared.  


"Uh, yeah!" Eren shouted at her and tried to get to the door before Armin, but when he scrambled around the corner he already held the phone against his ear.  


"Hello? Yeah, come up."  


He hung up and opened the door. Eren could hear Jean and Marco laughing on their way up the stairs.  


Armin turned around and raised an eyebrow.  


"You're awfully excited for him."  


Eren scowled, hoping Armin realized that Mikasa wasn't supposed to hear anything. Otherwise he didn't react.  


Armin was right. He was excited, probably more so for Levi than for his mother's reaction to his gift. But he had this planned for so long and he only met Levi a short while ago. How could priorities shift so quickly?  


"Armin! How are you, man?"  


Eren watched Jean and Marco greet Armin. Jean was rough and gave a few noisy shoulder pats while Marco gave a hug and a warm smile. Armin tried to show an equal amount of happiness between both of them. Eren didn't bother. He looked half as thrilled for Jean as he did for Marco and in the end Jean simply walked past him, while Marco glared at the back of his boyfriend’s head.  


Funny how quickly everything had gone back to normal after what had happened at the club.  


"Hey, Eren. We're happy to be here. I think this is a great idea!"  


Eren smiled at him and followed them back into the kitchen where they greeted Mikasa.  


Everything was set out on the kitchen table and Eren begun giving out tasks and instructions. Jean got started right away while Marco kept telling Eren what a great idea it was and how happy he was he could be of help.  


Mikasa wore a straight face the whole time, but still, Eren could feel her smiling. Armin was being efficient, observing and deep in thought. Likely on the same matter as Eren.  


And finally, at 9am sharp, the doorbell rang again. Armin jumped up off the ground where they had been busy assembling and Eren went after him, but Armin had too much of a headstart for him to catch up.  


When Eren got through the door, grabbing Armin by the shoulder, they both had to watch Mikasa pick up the phone.  


"Hello? Yeah, you're right. Fifth floor."  


She pressed the button, then hung up and turned back towards the kitchen, leaving Eren and Armin standing in the doorframe.  


"I sure hope he's worth the fuss you guys are making," she mumbled and Eren suppressed an awkward laugh.  


He stepped forward and opened the door, waiting for Levi to come up. Like Jean and Marco, he took the stairs and Eren could hear his footsteps coming closer and closer for what felt like half an eternity until Eren was greeted by the man that, once again, looked nothing like he remembered.  


Black hair at some parts reached his eyes at others his cheekbones, worn in combination with an undercut. He looked like he hadn't slept much, deep, dark shadows painting his face, but his eyes were the opposite of tired. They shot up, immediately met Eren’s own eyes and he smiled. He lifted his left arm, carrying a large toolbox.  


"I figured some more wouldn't hurt. I didn't know if you had anything besides the drill."  


Eren smiled, scratching the back of his head.  


"What do you mean?"  


"Nothing, nevermind."  


Levi climbed the last couple stairs and stood in front of Eren. He was almost an entire head shorter but it was also obvious that he was a couple years older.  


Eren didn't really know how to greet him, so he just kind of slung his arm around him in a manly half hug.  


"H-hey man. Thanks for coming."  


Levi raised an eyebrow at the awkward greeting but went along with it.  


"Come in. We already started." Eren turned around, making way so that Levi could pass by him. But Levi set down the toolbox and took off his shoes first.  


"Oh, that's nice of you but we'll clean afterwards anyway."  


Levi nodded, but still proceeded to take off his shoes.  


"Of course, you'll have to clean the place afterwards. But it won't help if it's any dirtier."  


He picked up his shoes and went for the toolbox but Eren took it from him.  


"It's fine, I'll take it to the kitchen."  


He grabbed the handle and lifted it, full of overconfidence. Levi had made it look so easy!  


It wasn't heavy enough to shake him, but he wouldn't be able to lift it up five stories with his left arm. Maybe Levi was a leftie?  


"Are we going to renovate the whole flat?" Levi asked and Eren couldn't tell if he liked the idea or was put off by it.  


"No, not exactly. The kitchen, mostly, and a big part of the bathroom, the rest doesn't need much work to make it more accessible."  


"Accessible?"  


Right, Levi didn't know that yet.  


"My mom uses a wheelchair."  


Levi nodded and seemed to take in the flat.  


"I can see how it would be hard to get around here with a wheelchair. Where do I come in?"  


He took off his jacket, the same black biker jacket from Thursday. The kind Eren didn't yet feel mature enough for. He wore a simple, black shirt underneath and did up his sleeves after putting his coat on a hanger. Eren noticed something else, a long, dangling necklace, more like dog tags perhaps, which Levi discretely hid beneath his shirt. Was he military?  


But setting that aside for now, Levi made Eren, in his oldest jeans and a torn, old shirt feel kind of underdressed for a day of renovating.  


Levi turned around and looked at him, waiting for an answer.  


"You're with me. Levi, right?"  


Mikasa turned the kitchen corner, carrying the stolen drill and two pairs of thick working gloves. She threw one at Levi.  


"We're disassembling the kitchen and then reassembling the new one."  


Levi put on the gloves and opened the toolbox, picking out a couple of tools.  


"Good. What stays?"  


"Fridge, oven, basically everything electrical; all the cupboards and the working surface as well are replaced. If you disassemble something, you can take it down behind the complex,” Mikasa stated.  


"That's Mikasa, my sister.", Eren said, knowing she wouldn't introduce herself.  


Levi nodded and kneeled down in front of the first kitchen counter.  


"I'll be around here somewhere, if you need me," Eren mumbled, turned around and left.  


Armin waited for him in the hallway, lifting both arms in a ‘what the hell was that?' kind of gesture. Eren grimaced and walked past him, getting to work himself.  


He was mostly busy and the only times he saw Levi was when he carried parts of the old kitchen through the flat and outside. Mikasa sometimes passed by them doing the same. Eren felt nervous that Levi might have said something to her, but she seemed to be her usual stoic self.  


Jean and Marco came out either together or not at all and if it weren't for Marco he would be questioning whether they were working at all.  


He and Armin were working in his mother's bedroom. They had rearranged the furniture and readjusted the height of the desk as well as taken apart her wardrobe. There were a couple of things Eren had gotten, a few Mikasa had gotten as well. Hanging rails that could be pulled out which they arranged on one side of the cupboard and additional cupboards that they arranged on the other side.  


Eren had everything measured and planned and by the time they had all the clothing sorted back in, Levi and Mikasa had the entire kitchen taken out back.  


"Oh wow, you guys are fast!" he heard Marco exclaim.  


Eren and Armin followed Marco’s voice into the kitchen, where Levi had just carried the first part of the new kitchen counter in by himself.  


Neither Mikasa nor Levi said anything. It was likely neither of them had spoken since Eren left a few hours ago.  


"Why are you here being lazy?" Mikasa asked, marking something on the free kitchen wall with a pen.  


"We're hungry,” Jean bluntly let out, to Marco’s horror.  


"Yeah, well we can go grab a bite and be right back," he said and glared at Jean who just shrugged.  


"The least he can do is provide us with some food. I'm sacrificing my Saturday for this."  


"This is probably the most productive you've ever been on a Saturday," Marco mumbled, rolling his eyes.  


"Exactly! I'm losing precious me-time here!" Jean exclaimed and Eren's face turned red. He hadn't felt awesome about asking Jean for help in the first place.  


‘You didn't have to come at all’ was what he was going to say, thereby likely starting a new, long lasting and exhausting argument with Jean. But Levi interjected.  


"I'm throwing a round. You all like pizza, right? Two family sized, what do you want on them?"  


"Mushrooms" came from Mikasa, helpful and simple as always. But at least that solved that issue.  


"Hawaiian pizza, please," answered Armin going back to the bedroom.  


Jean and Marco both wanted pepperoni.  


Levi turned to look at him.  


"I don't mind, I'll get whatever you're getting." Eren said, somehow thinking this would make things less complicated for Levi.  


"Alright then,” Levi said, picking up his phone and ordering two family sized pizzas: one part mushroom, part Hawaiian and part pepperoni, the other one part Pepperoni and two parts anchovies. Upon Eren's look of horror, Levi grinned, gave the address and hung up.  


Jean laughed loudly and wanted to high five Levi, but he just knelt down and began unpacking the kitchen counter part he had just carried up. Jean looked aghast and turned to Marco who just shrugged.  


Eren fled back into the bedroom, refusing to tell Armin what had just happened. He would have to sit through at least one huge slice of anchovy pizza today and he was not looking forward to that.  


"So, he's a little older than you, isn't he?"  


"Armin!" Eren hissed, helping Armin carry his mother's mattress off the bed. Armin remained quiet, waiting for an answer.  


"Yeah, so?"  


"How old is he?"  


Eren set down the mattress, not looking at Armin as he walked back towards the bed.  


"You don't know, do you?"  


Eren shook his head.  


"I told you, I hardly know anything about him. I'm lucky I even got his name."  


Armin nodded and by Eren's tone, it was clear he wanted the conversation to end there.  


They were working to add some height adjustable feet to the bed Carla could tell Eren at what height it was most comfortable to her. Most of the furniture was theirs anyway, so it was fine.  


They were just making use of the stolen drill and fixing the feet to the bedframe when Marco’s head popped in through the door.  


"Hey guys, pizza's there."  


Armin jumped up and Eren's stomach churned.  


Eren turned the corner right on time to see Levi pay the pizza guy and Jean take the boxes into the kitchen.  


"Uh, thanks, but you don't have to pay for that," Eren interjected, but Levi had already closed the door in the poor delivery guy's face.  


"It's fine. You can pay for our breakfast if you insist."  


Eren's eyes shot open and his heart started to hammer in his chest. Levi just dropped a bomb on him and didn't seem affected in the slightest. He didn't even smile or anything. Was he toying with Eren?  


He followed Levi into the kitchen where everyone was already eating.  


Levi grabbed one of the plates they had placed aside before taking apart the kitchen. Eren took one as well. Mikasa raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Eren watched Levi eat his pizza with a fork and knife and after a moment of contemplation did the same.  


He tried not to breath through his nose but it didn't really help. He took a bite and chewed, briefly caught Levi's eye and swallowed. Levi took another bite and watched Eren.  


Somehow, Eren managed to eat a whole slice in a realistic time span, while everyone else had almost eaten two. He hoped Levi would just take him for a slow eater. It must be either that or Levi was sadistic and knew Eren forced himself to eat this because of him. Even though it was technically Eren's fault, for not telling Levi what kind of pizza he preferred.  


"So, your mom will be back in what, three hours? We'll be done way sooner than that! We're just about finished with the bathroom, some of the silicone still has to dry, but it'll have to do that overnight anyway. I don't think the hallway will take that long."  


"Good, once you're finished, you can clean the bathroom and the hallway."  


Everybody stared at Levi, who was lost in his pizza piece, but nobody thought of saying anything besides Marco.  


"Yes, of course."  


And that was that. They ate, Marco and Jean entertained the whole group and after their short break, acting on Levi's look of disgust, Eren immediately took the pizza boxes downstairs to the trash.  


They were finished with the bedroom by the time Marco and Jean were cleaning the hallway. After cleaning his mother's bedroom they all collectively assembled the new kitchen. The counters resembled tables now, with enough room for a wheelchair to fit beneath them. The cupboards were moved to the very sides, one next to the fridge, one next to the oven. They each only had one handle, which pulled out all of the cupboards at once, each accessible from both sides.  


Plates and the like were stored on three separate boards attached to the kitchen wall.  


While Levi, Eren and Marco cleaned the kitchen, the rest helped sort everything out. It all went perfectly well until panic started.  


Mr. Zacharias called, an hour early, and informed Eren that they were on their way back and would be there in fifteen minutes.  


Mikasa, Armin, Marco and Jean did touch ups on all the rooms, fixing the small things they had left for last while Eren and Levi got the dining table from Mr. Zacharias' flat.  


Jean waited helping them unpack and unwrap the wooden plate, taking the cardboard from them and running down to get rid of it. It was a large, semi-circle that would be attached to the wall. If pulled upwards, it would create a table without any legs to get in the way. Jean had stayed downstairs after taking the cardboard down and Armin and Mikasa were going to hide in Eren's room until Eren gave them the sign to come out.  


The plan had been for Levi, Jean and Marco to leave before his mother came home, but suddenly the keys were turning in the lock and Mr. Zacharias was obviously taking much longer than he needed to. Marco and Levi thankfully reacted quickly and disappeared in Eren's bedroom. God, Eren should have cleaned it beforehand.  


He got rid of the cleaning supplies underneath the sink and stepped into the hallway, just in time for his mother to come in.  


The door to his room was closed and Eren's eyes were nervously drawn to it. Did he have anything embarrassing lying out in the open? Oh god, were the magazines still sprawled out on the floor or had he put them back underneath the bed?  


Eren tried to straighten his hair and rolled down his sleeves in a futile attempt to make himself seem less shabby, but he had put on old clothes due to the likelihood of him ruining them.  


Eren could hear his mother laughing, genuinely and saw her look up at Mr. Zacharias as he held open the door for her. He contemplated saying something, but left it at standing there and waiting until she would notices the changes to their flat.  


Which she did immediately, when she did not have to put much effort into getting over their threshold.  


Carla looked behind herself into the doorframe, noticing the slim silver plank that evened out the ground. She looked up and, upon noticing Eren standing in the hall, smiled widely.  


"Eren! Did you do this? This is wonderful!"  


Eren smiled and nodded, waiting for her to notice all the other differences.  


"Are these in every door? Oh that's wonderful."  


Carla slowly went through the house, past the coat hanger, not noticing it, going past the kitchen, not noticing that either and went straight to hug Eren. He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and laughed, excited about her finding out about all the other things.  


She took off her jacket and turned towards the old coat hanger, staring confused at the new contraption.  


"A new coat hanger?" she asked, obviously confused.  


It hung the jackets a lot higher than the other one, way out of reach.  


"You need to pull the handle down." Eren advised, smiling as he watched his mother figure out the handy coat hanger. The whole rack slowly came down to a comfortable height for her to put her jacket on herself.  


Carla operated the contraption with wide eyes, impressed and fascinated. Eren swelled with pride. He had put this together. He had made her this happy.  


"Wait ‘til you see the rest!"  


He just couldn't keep himself from spoiling it. Mikasa was still hiding, waiting for the right moment to jump out.  


But the actual surprise only started when Carla entered the kitchen. Eren couldn't bare to stand by and watch. He showed his mother everything they had installed, explaining in great detail, almost happier about the whole thing than Carla. Mr. Zacharias politely waited in the entrance to the kitchen, inspecting it and especially the kitchen table he had contributed. Eren still believed that that had been more of a treat for himself though, since he spend more time in their kitchen than in is own.  


When Mikasa finally revealed herself, there was some crying involved. Eren noticed, how Mr. Zacharias was suddenly no longer in their flat, but he couldn't blame him. He had never been the best with dealing with tears himself.  


There was a lot of talking and explaining, the whole afternoon was full of showing and demonstrating and finally, when they all sat down on Carla's lowered bed, they got to talk about how long the planning took and of course that Eren and Mikasa hadn't worked the magic on their own.  


That was when Eren, shocked and in the spur of the moment got up to check only to see that his room was empty. They must have snuck out while Eren was showing around the flat.  


Carla insisted on inviting everybody over for dinner and Eren, albeit a bit reluctantly, promised to invite them.  


"And this Levi too! You two have such wonderful friends, I hope you know to cherish them. Not everybody would help out a family they haven't even met yet. Where did you meet him again?"  


Eren sucked in a deep breath.  


"At the party with Jean and Marco. I don't know him that well yet, but he seems really nice."  


"Yeah, he seemed pretty decent. Better than Jean, at least."  


Carla mock-slapped Mikasa's arm.  


"Well, but if Mikasa says so, you should probably keep him close."  


"Yeah, I'm actually going to meet him again tomorrow morning. We were going to hang out for breakfast," Eren mentioned, Carla taking it just the way he'd hoped. Mikasa not so much.  


She frowned and turned her head to look at Eren. He just smiled, hoping she would leave it at that.  


"Perfect. I'll treat you two. I can't just let the poor boy work without a decent thank you."  


"You don't have to do that, mom," Eren mumbled, but once Carla had set her mind on something, rarely anything could ever budge it.

The next morning, already up, showered and ready, Eren received two twenties and a kiss on the cheek.  


"Say hello to Levi for me and thank him for the good work he's done. And be nice, don't forget to thank him. You tend to play those things down. You'd be better friends with Jean if you ever said thank you to him."  


"I know, mom,", Eren replied, rolling his eyes. He fidgeted in place and tried to pull his face out of her hands.  


He took a couple of deep breaths. Levi could be here any minute. In preparation, because he expected Levi to be dressed up no less than yesterday, Eren had put on a dress shirt himself. Carla had caught him in the bathroom, trying to fix his hair. He had blushed five shades darker at her laugh. But he hadn't learned from that as his mother caught him trying to fix whichever unruly streaks bugged him now.  


"Don’t bother, Eren. I’ve tried both gel and spray for you and nothing’s ever worked with that nest of yours. This Levi must be a very decent man that you want to impress him so much."  


Startled, Eren let his hands fall to his sides. His mother saw right through him. Eren hoped she couldn’t see any deeper.  


The bell rang and he kissed Carla on her cheek before rushing out. She just shook her head and made her way back to the kitchen to make a nice big breakfast for Mikasa and herself.  


Eren thanked his mother again for buying him a neat white dress shirt, even though it was just about the only fancy thing he had. He wore this to weddings, funerals, for Christmas and, now that he thought about it, actually every other day where he was required to wear more than jeans and a shirt.  


But it didn’t change the fact that when Levi showed up Eren wore jeans and trainers, while Levi wore dress shirt, blazer and polished, pointed leather shoes like those that Grisha used to wear when he had a lecture to hold in front of hundreds of people.  


Eren thanked the gods that he had at least woken up early enough to shower.


	5. Zweisam

 

He had rushed down the stairs and stopped abruptly, a little closer to Levi than expected. Eren didn’t even notice that he was forced to look down when looking into his eyes. He was too captivated by that aura of confidence to notice their difference in size.  


Eren didn’t even think of taking a step back so that they might be at a more appropriate distance for acquaintances. Automatically mimicking Levi’s posture, he stood up straight and extended a hand out for Levi to shake. There was barely enough room between them for that.  


Levi raised an eyebrow, first at the hand, then at Eren. When Eren’s nervous eyes met Levi’s sceptical ones, he blurted out a rather loud good morning.  


Levi responded by shaking his head with a badly concealed smile and turning away. Even though this had already started out embarassing, a small smile could do wonders for someone's confidence. The sudden tension in Eren left and he followed after Levi like a young labrador after a doberman.  


The door fell closed and Eren noticed with awestruck eyes that it was snowing. Everything was covered with a thin, barely there sheen of white, gone as soon as you touched it. Eren stepped in Levi’s footprints and smiled to himself at the considerable difference in size.  


"Hey, daydreamer! Do you care for a longer stroll?" Levi asked from ahead.  


"Hm?"  


Levi turned around, seeming slightly annoyed but only for the split part of a second. When he saw Eren purposely placing his steps next to Levi’s, he seemed positively annoyed.  


Eren grinned in embarrassment, shrinking a little. It made him seem like a kid that attempted to avoid scolding by looking as innocent and cute as possible. Too bad that he was still taller than Levi.  


"Are you fine with walking a long way? I only have a motorcycle,” Levi asked, slowly pulling his eyes from the footprints in the thin snow.  


"I’m fine with the motorcycle as well!" Eren blurted out, maybe a little too eager.  


"Ever been on one?"  


Eren shook his head. Levi nodded.  


"Of course. Alright, I brought another helmet just in case. You trust me with the snow?"  


"Blindly."  


Eren grinned, hurrying towards Levi until they were next to each other. Eren stopped and waited for him to continue, excitedly scanning the area for a motorcycle. He had never been on one before, but always wanted to. He turned back around and once more found himself much too close to Levi than usually acceptable for acquaintances.  


"Good morning, by the way," Levi said when Eren’s eyes had stopped roaming and met his, just inches away.  


Eren blushed at that, without knowing why, but at least Levi’s smile finally showed some teeth.  


He nodded towards his right, making sure Eren would follow him when he kept going. Eren used the chance of standing out of Levi's sight for a second to check his cheeks temperature. He wasn't used to blushing, he wasn't used to stuttering and he certainly wasn't used to this constant nervousness.  


But that didn't mean he disliked any of it.  


The motorcycle wasn’t far away and Levi laughed out loud at the way Eren’s eyes lit up upon spotting it. Suddenly, Eren walked much faster than Levi, passed him by until he stood next to the big machine and looked at Levi with big eyes.  


"This is yours?"  


Levi nodded with a smile, watching Eren admire the sleek, black crotch rocket motorcycle.  


"Put on your helmet."  


Levi sat himself on it and waited for Eren to jump on behind him.  


Eren fumbled with the helmet a bit and had his troubles climbing onto the motorbike, not wanting to touch Levi while getting on.  


Not because he didn't want to touch Levi, but because he didn't want Levi to be annoyed at him touching. It didn't make sense and it overcomplicated trying to get onto the motorbike. But sitting right behind him made it impossible not to touch.  


"Hang on tight," Levi murmured and turned the bike around.  


Eren panicked a little, searching around for anywhere to grab onto that wasn't Levi and would still offer him some sort of stability.  


"Don't fall off, just hang on to my back."  


Eren blushed again - damn, what was it with all the blushing? - and carefully slid his arms underneath Levi's. Levi waited until Eren had crossed them in front of his chest, before going off.  


He started slowly and Eren was eternally grateful, because a motorcycle was not at all comparable to his old, rusty bicycle. All thoughts about Levi's little privacy bubble vanished and Eren pressed his chest against Levi's back in a desperate attempt to not be swept off the bike.  


"You need to lean into the curves with me, okay?" Levi rose his voice through their helmets and the wind. He didn't seem to mind the bubble breach.  


Eren didn't really know how to respond to that, and he hadn't really understood the words either, when they took a turn over onto a larger road.  


Eren clung to him for dear life, automatically leaning to the other side in an attempt to stay upright.  


"Lean with me Eren," Levi reminded him, calmly, as they sped up.  


It took a small while of driving straight at a constant speed for Eren to realize he could relax a little. He turned his head, watching the cars pass by them, watching their reflections in the tinted windows and dark paint.  


Two alike silhouettes, the same colour and the same head, one leaned forward in focus, the other leaned back freely.  


Eren wanted a picture of that printed out to use as a screensaver.  


Much too quickly, Levi gained his attention with a shrug of his shoulders and a nod of the head. This time Eren did lean to the same side as Levi, but that made his heart race much faster, since their speed was much greater and their curve much steeper.  


It was a bit of a shock for Eren, and he was attached to Levi's back like a magnet, his arms slung tightly around Levi's torso. And instead of going straight so that Eren might relax again, Levi leaned to the other side. Eren, clung to his back like a monkey, automatically shifted his weight along.  


The drive ended rather abruptly, right in front of a small restaurant on the street. Levi turned off the motor, but stayed seated, waiting for Eren to let go on his own.  


With slightly weak knees - not that he'd let Levi notice- he slung his right leg over the back of the bike and took off his helmet. Levi offered Eren his hand and for a split second he thought Levi wanted him to take it. Luckily, even if that had been his intention, Eren would have pushed the helmet towards him instead anyway. He wasn't prepared for that kind of contact yet.  


Levi secured the bike and their helmets and turned towards Eren.  


"Hungry?"  


Oh, right. Breakfast.  


"Starving, actually."  


"Good."  


Eren went to open the door for Levi, but his hand fell again when he caught sight of the ‘closed’ sign behind the glass.  


"They're closed..." Eren said, trying not to sound too disappointed. He had really looked forward to Levi's special recommendation.  


But Levi lifted his arm anyway and effortlessly pushed the door open.  


"Wait, they're not closed?" he asked, walking through the door Levi held open for him.  


"They are," he answered and Eren felt the need to punch him. At least in the shoulder. Maybe just shove him. But he hated cryptic stuff like this.  


Levi led him through the small restaurant, vases with different assortments of flowers on every table, plants throughout the restaurant, even hanging from the ceiling. Like Mike’s apartment but with more colour. Everything seemed to be wooden and most of the wood received character through rough carvings of flowery patterns, obviously handmade. He should try to take a picture for his mother afterwards. She would love to see this. Maybe he could even take her some time as well, if the food was good and not too expensive.  


Levi went straight towards a small table in the back, for two people. It was the only one that was set for guests.  


Eren looked at Levi, the questions in his mind apparently very obvious.  


"I know the owner," Levi explained, sitting down. Eren did the same.  


And speak of the devil, an elderly blond man emerged from the kitchen, carrying two plates and heading straight for them.  


"Good morning, gentlemen. What can I get you to drink?"  


"Black tea," Levi answered right away, then joining the waiter to look at Eren expectantly.  


"Uh, coffee."  


"Milk, sugar?"  


"Uh, yes please."  


"Very well. Bon appetit."  


Only when the waiter had disappeared did Eren shift his attention to his plate.  


Two waffles, completed with strawberries and a small tip of whipped cream on top. It didn't exactly look like a breakfast, but Eren's mouth watered anyway.  


"Well then, enjoy, I guess." Eren went for his fork when Levi held up his hand.  


"Wait a little."  


Eren put his fork down, uncomfortable at having to be reprimanded. Levi seemed to stress manners. He would have to pay more attention to his.  


And of course, the chef came out of the kitchen, carrying a basket with bread, bread rolls and croissants and a tray with small plates of cheese, jams, fish and meat.  


He left and returned again, with the tea, the coffee, milk and sugar and on his last trip he brought a candle. He placed it right between Levi and Eren and lit it, before turning to Levi.  


"If there's anything else I can do for you, just call."  


Levi nodded and the man left into the kitchen again, closing the door behind him.  


Eren looked at the table and despite noticing a lot of things, like the symmetrical placing of the plates and the even numbers of cheese slices and Levi's fidgeting hands next to knife and spoon, both kept just at the edge of the table, his focus seemed to be drawn to the candle. And because sometimes Eren can't quite seem to figure out the right moment and the right things to say, he just blurts things out that may be obvious, but nobody wants to hear or say aloud.  


"This is a date."  


It was more of a confirmation for himself, since he had hoped but not really been sure about it.  


Levi's hands stopped fidgeting and Eren thought maybe he was mistaken, by how pale he suddenly turned.  


"Not if you don't want it to be, of course."  


Eren wouldn't have been able to look his opposition in the eyes in a moment like this, had he been Levi. But Levi valiantly kept eye contact.  


Eren needed a moment. Somehow, to some small part of him, this had all been clear already. But it kind of all threatened to come crashing down on him again. This was a stranger he had made out with while he was so drunk that he still has trouble recalling the evening. He wasn't even sure if he liked men.  


But, even though he may be dense when it came to other people and their emotions, he knew enough about his own to be able to say that he did, kind of, like this man.  


"I do, though."  


He could see how Levi's expression, which generally didn't seem to change all that much, turned a little softer. His eyes were wide and suddenly he did seem to have trouble holding eye contact.  


"I've never been on a date. I've also never had the restaurant to myself. This is really... thoughtful of you."  


"I just know the owner," Levi mumbled and Eren smiled. He didn't need to know he was repeating himself. It was nice to not be the only one to lose composure.  


"I hope you're not lactose intolerant," he added with a long look at their breakfast options. Eren laughed.  


"Why, it's just us and we won't be crammed in a car together."  


Levi snorted and reached for his tea. And just like that, the tension disappeared.  


They went through a vast variety of topics fairly quickly. No one allergic to anything, nobody lactose intolerant. A couple of laughs and jokes he never would have told in the company of his mother. Some jokes that even shocked him, but they kept their conversations interesting.  


Levi liked tea, was almost obsessed with it even, and played with the thought of opening a tea shop at some point in his life.  


Eren had no plans for the future and there was nothing he was particularly interested in that could influence his future.  


"How old are you?" Levi asked, in response to his little future dilemma. Eren experienced a small crisis at that question.  


On one hand, he liked Levi and he didn't want to lie to him. On the other hand, Levi was definitely older than Eren, not by enough to be creepy but perhaps still enough for Levi to look for someone more mature.  


Twenty was just cheating by a few months, but it sounded so much better than nineteen. Nineteen still sounded like a pubescent, pimpled teen and twenty sounded mature.  


But Eren had already waited a little too long with his answer and lost the courage to lie.  


"Nineteen."  


Levi raised an eyebrow.  


"I thought you were younger, to be honest."  


Eren scoffed.  


"No, really, I was scared you were going to say fifteen or something."  


"I don't look that young!"  


"You do."  


Levi was right, he did. But at least Levi didn't seem to have a problem with it.  


"How old are you?" he asked raising both eyebrows at Levi, emphasizing the you in a slightly annoying way he only noticed once it was out.  


"Twenty-four."  


"I thought you were older." Eren blurted out again and Levi pulled a face.  


"How old?"  


"I dunno, like twenty-seven or something." He shrugged and grinned.  


"For a second there I thought you were going to say forty."  


"Why? Has anyone said that before?"  


Levi was oddly immersed in the task of spreading jam on his croissant.  


"I didn't get much sleep when I was young."  


Judging by the shadows underneath his eyes he still didn't get much sleep, but Eren didn't say anything about that.  


"Last month I got asked for I.D. for a PG-13 movie."  


He had timed the statement perfectly, as Levi started choking on his tea in laughter. Eren watched him, taking large bites out of his croissant.  


"My best friend, Armin, always gets asked for I.D. Mikasa never does. They’d let her into rated-R movies when she was only fourteen."  


Levi had settled down a little, but was still smiling.  


"Armin was the blond one, right? And Mikasa did the kitchen with me."  


Eren nodded.  


"And the guy with dark hair and all the freckles was Marco and the abnormally obnoxious one is Jean."  


Levi nodded.  


"They're your friends from the bar, right?"  


Eren had a short flashback to the taste of strong liquor and smoke. He took a big gulp of his coffee.  


"Yeah. Marco came from out of town and we rarely get out together."  


Levi seemed to know he'd breeched unsecured terrain.  


"Did you know before that evening?"  


The question could have been about a number of things, Eren chose to answer about the one he felt most comfortable with.  


"No, they never told me about them, they kind of just hoped I'd find out myself, I guess."  


Levi nodded, finishing his croissant.  


"Say, did he open up just for you or did he close it for you?" Eren suddenly asked. They had been sitting for a while now and according to the opening times printed on the glass, it wasn't typically a closed day either.  


"He closed it," Levi murmured, wiping the crumbs off his hands and off the table, placing them on his plate.  


"You two must be close then."  


Levi's head shot up, his voice betraying nothing of his emotions.  


"Why do you think that?"  


"Well, he's probably losing a lot of money for not opening this morning. The food is really good, I'm guessing a lot of customers would come and go in the time we're here. If I were in his place, I probably wouldn't close it just for someone I know, but am not close to, you know?"  


Levi smiled in a way that could be seen as sinister but maybe Eren just interpreted it wrong.  


"Yes, he knows my uncle very well."  


It felt like a joke Eren didn't understand. But he brushed it off. It wasn't exactly uncommon for him to not get things.  


"Are you and your uncle close?" Eren asked, sitting back. He'd finished, but he didn't want the date to be over yet. Levi kept picking crumbs off the table and depositing them on a tiny crumb hill on his plate.  


"You could say that," he mumbled and upon Eren's silent urging to keep talking, elaborated.  


"I live under his roof and I work for him, but that's about it."  


Eren nodded, sensing a sore topic. But that didn't mean the mood had to turn sour.  


"And the rest of your family?"  


Eren realized that maybe this wasn't the best way to save the mood. There couldn't be a lot of good reasons for him to not life with his family after all. They might not have that good of a relationship like Eren and his mother. Or his parents might be divorced.  


Eren half expected to have breached a total taboo, but Levi stayed calm.  


"No, I just live with my uncle," he answered simply.  


And that was that.  


It was silent for a few seconds, but before it could get too awkward, Levi called for the chef.  


"It was good, thank you," he said and then stood up.  


Eren pulled the bill out of his jeans and wanted to hand it to him when Levi stopped him.  


"Oh no, it's all settled, don't worry."  


"My mom wanted to invite us, to say thanks for helping."  


The chef looked between Eren and Levi in confusion, but made no move to take the bill from Eren.  


"In that case, she can invite me herself some time. I'd love to meet her," Levi said, putting his hand over Eren's and pushing it down. Eren put the bill away and thanked the chef.  


"It was really good, thank you!"  


The chef smiled at Eren as if he'd barely heard him and then turned to Levi, waiting for something.  


"You won't hear from my uncle in a while, I'm afraid, but you can come to me if you need something. Have a good day."  


The chef shook Levi's hand a little too aggressively. Levi pulled it away slowly and opened the door for Eren.  


Eren was a little caught off guard by the situation, but went along with it and walked through the door. He wanted to ask Levi what his uncle did that the chef might need from him but felt like maybe it wasn't the best idea right now.  


"What does your uncle do?" he bluntly asked anyway, turning around to look at the chef, still awkwardly standing inside his closed restaurant, waving like a puppet.  


Levi gently placed a hand at the small of Eren's back, only touching him with his fingertips, but guiding him towards the motorcycle anyway.  


"Oh, just about everything. He runs an organization that concerns itself with several branches of logistics, intelligence and information, import, export, investment planning, all that kind of stuff. It's kind of an all-around company."  


"Oh. And what do you do there?"  


Levi unlocked the bike and handed Eren one of the helmets, taking a little long with his answer.  


"I'm kind of an errand boy. I do all the stuff nobody else wants to do."  


Eren laughed. Was Levi embarrassed about that?  


"I know how that feels. I practically live off running errands and walking dogs. I know the local supermarket like my jeans pocket. Oh, can we walk back, maybe?"  


Levi laughed.  


"You looked so excited when you saw the bike, I figured you'd be as excited to ride it, but sure."  


"I know, but I don't feel like leaning into the curves actually."  


"We'll work on that." Levi laughed and Eren grinned from ear to ear at that promise.  


They walked through town, which was much nicer than a quiet, quick ride around. It seemed much easier to talk even than it had at the restaurant. Eren told Levi more about his jobs and about Mikasa and Armin. How they both didn't live here anymore, but were off studying a few hours away.  


"You didn't want to go to university?" Levi asked, interrupting Eren's current train of thought.  


"No, well, I dunno. I'm not sure if I'm cut out for it yet. And I'll have to finish school first..."  


Levi hummed.  


"Did you repeat a year?"  


Eren looked down. He hated admitting it, but Levi didn't seem to be the type to make fun of that.  


"Two. 9th grade and now the last year."  


Levi hummed again.  


"Your attendance?"  


Eren acted occupied with walking on the line that the road paving offered him.  


"You should have been in school when I met you. When you were out for the drill as well as the tea. Does that happen often?"  


Eren shrugged.  


"What am I supposed to do? My old job fired me over some stupid shit that wasn't even my fault and nothing else pays me even half as well so I just gotta do double on the shitty paying jobs."  


Levi nodded to himself.  


"Being short for cash sucks."  


The way he said it made it obvious he knew the feeling. Which gave Eren an idea.  


"Hey, maybe I could get a job at your uncle's company! I'm good at playing the errand boy! So maybe, if they're still searching for someone..."  


Levi shook his head.  


"They don't need errand boys, they need professionals. And I'm only there because of Kenny." Upon Eren's confused face he added, "My uncle."  


"Okay."  


Eren's shoulders slumped again but not for long.  


A whistle tore them both out of their conversation. Three men, all in their mid-thirties, were gathered around a back entrance, smoking. Two of them wore shabby beards the third was in a tracksuit. One of them spit on the ground.  


"Hey, boy. Kenny's not gonna be too thrilled with this. You'll have to do a helluva lot of ass kissin' to make up for this faggotry."  


They all laughed in unison and Eren's hands balled into fists. He may not know what this was about, but he knew peopled like that well enough through Armin. He wasn't one to just stand by and watch.  


"Shut up and fuck off."  


Eren's yell felt like it came out of nowhere but no one was actually impressed by it. Besides maybe Levi, who placed his arm around Eren's shoulder and pulled him closer.  


"Yeah, go ahead and tattletale to Kenny, shitheads. I dare you."  


Another one of them spit on the ground, but didn't utter another word.  


They were all as silent as mice when Levi led Eren past them. Eren still boiled internally. He wouldn't have minded a couple punches.  


It took him a while to notice Levi's arm around his shoulder, which he didn't take away, even as the men were long out of sight.  


They didn't talk much more after that, but it was a comfortable silence and Eren felt the urge to take the hand that loosely hung off his shoulder.  


"Do you really want to go out with my mom?" he asked, when his house came into sight. It sounded pretty weird when he said it like that.  


"With your mother and you if you want to come. You can bring your friend and your sister as well, I don't mind. But I don't have the money to invite everyone. I do want to meet her at some point, if you'll keep seeing me, that is."  


It was worded like a question but it didn't seem to be one. The answer was obvious already.  


"Of course I do. Wanna go out for breakfast tomorrow?"  


Levi lifted an eyebrow.  


"You have school tomorrow."  


Eren's face fell. This wasn't going to work out if Levi was one of those people trying to tell him what's right.  


Apparently he noticed, but just shrugged at it.  


"Look, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but maybe you want this school year to be your last, you know? And finishing school can get you a lot farther in life than you think."  


Eren rolled his eyes. Levi was starting to sound like Mikasa or Armin.  


"How about we go out for lunch tomorrow instead. I'll take some time off and pick your mother up and we'll pick you up from school afterwards."  


‘No’ didn't seem to be an option there.  


"I'll ask my mom," Eren sighed.  


"When do you get off from school tomorrow?"  


Levi had this aura to him that made Eren unable to lie. Man this sucked. He had math tomorrow. And just about every other subject he despised.  


"At three."  


Levi nodded and put the motorbike on its stand. They had arrived at Eren's front door. He was just about to ask Levi to come up with him, but he doubted Levi would say yes.  


"Three it is then. Tell your mother I'll be at her door at half past two."  


"She can't ride on the motorcycle and the school is too far away for her.", Eren interjected as a last minute thought.  


"I'll bring my uncle's car."  


This was the goodbye moment, Eren realized. They were going to meet again tomorrow, sure, but this was the first date. It had to have some sort of memorable, meaningful end, right? Should he do something? Kiss him or hug him or something?  


"So, uh, see you tomorrow, then.", Eren smiled and waved. Levi nodded and got on his bike.  


With stiff shoulders, Eren walked up the stairs, hearing the roar of the motorcycle in the background and wanting to hit his head against the doorframe. So much for a meaningful end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter I have done, but I'm already working on the next one.   
> I'd greately appreciate it If you'd leave your thoughts in the comments.   
> As a little teaser for what will happen in the next chapter, we will finally be meeting our dearly beloved uncle Kenny.   
> I hope you look forward to that as much as I do.   
> Until next time!


End file.
